


children of wisdom and death

by SJAandDWfan



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Half Blood AU, Percy Jackson AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-04-17 10:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4663044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SJAandDWfan/pseuds/SJAandDWfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura Hollis was no stranger to weird things happening around her. On her first day of fifth grade, she had been chased around the playground by a snarling dog – much bigger than she’d thought dogs could be – whose bloodshot orange eyes nobody else had seemed to be able to see. In fact, she’d only escaped a mauling by pulling out the can of bear spray her dad had given her and spraying the dog in the face with it. Another kid had screamed at what he said was Laura attacking an innocent Chihuahua with a can of bear spray, and Laura had gotten into big, big trouble.</p><p>or</p><p>A Percy Jackson AU ft. demigod!Laura and the gang</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically because I reread the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series and then found the first 500 words of this fic I started like six months ago. I thought 'hey why not give it a go?' and here we are!
> 
> ps. if you want to, come shout with me about this au on tumblr @ ilovemyships :)

Laura Hollis was no stranger to weird things happening around her. On her first day of fifth grade, she had been chased around the playground by a snarling dog – much bigger than she’d thought dogs could be – whose bloodshot orange eyes nobody else had seemed to be able to see. In fact, she’d only escaped a mauling by pulling out the can of bear spray her dad had given her and spraying the dog in the face with it. Another kid had screamed at what he said was Laura attacking an innocent Chihuahua with a can of bear spray, and Laura had gotten into big, big trouble.

Or that time in sixth grade, when she had just turned twelve, and the day after her birthday, a very tall person had been waiting for her after school. She had been sure he was waiting for her because he had been holding an honest-to-God sign with ‘Laura Hollis’ written on it in scrawled, untidy handwriting. She had tried not to look at his face too much, but when she finally forced herself to do so, she’d had a shock. He’d only had one eye, right in the middle of his forehead. She had hidden behind a bush until her dad had showed up, and scurried over to him as fast as she could, determinedly not looking at the man-thing, because nobody else was looking at him.

She’d decided not to tell her dad about that one, in case he really went overboard with the personal safety.

Still, she wished that she could tell someone about the strange creatures that showed up near her. They never actually hurt her, though. (Well, a few had tried, but Laura was trained in Krav Maga so they never managed it.) But it was just her and her dad. Her mom had died in childbirth, she was told, and she had no older siblings. Her dad hadn’t remarried, and Laura didn’t have any friends at school – partly because everyone thought she was a weirdo who saw crazy things, and partly because they moved house an average of once a year. So she just kept all this weird stuff to herself.

Until just before her fifteenth birthday.

It was drizzling outside – being in April, this wasn’t uncommon – and Laura trudged home from a particularly gruelling day of school. Pretty soon she would be going to high school, and if it was anything like today had been, she really wasn’t looking forward to it. Scrunching her face up against the wind and rain, and a sound that sounded an awful lot like an approaching thunderstorm, Laura wished she’d brought a coat with her like her dad had suggested that morning. Suddenly, a movement in her periphery caught her attention.

Laura stopped dead, glancing around the empty street. It was grey and gloomy and quite hard to see around her, but she’d been sure there was something there. Laura sighed. Even if there had been something there, it was probably gone. Just as well; she didn’t really fancy whipping out her bear spray again and being mocked for simply wanting to protect herself. So she carried on walking.

She was only a few minutes’ walk from her house when she saw it again. This time she was sure of it. A flash of metal – bronze, she thought – out of the corner of her eye. There was definitely something. Trying to seem unaffected, Laura slowly reached into her backpack for the spray, ready for if this new threat came closer.

As she passed by an alleyway, Laura found herself being yanked by her arm into the gap. Blindly, she swung the hand holding the canister of bear spray round to her assailant and heard the clang of metal on metal. When she looked round, she saw the metal was actually what appeared to be a piece of bronze armour. What was surprising to her, though, was the girl that the Ancient Greek-style armour belonged to. She couldn’t have been any older than Laura herself.

Laura opened her mouth to scream, because even though the girl looked human, that still didn’t mean she was trustworthy. Quick as lightning, the girl clapped a hand over Laura’s mouth, bringing a finger to her own lips to make a shushing gesture. Not a moment too soon, as it turned out. Previously hidden by the sound of the rain and the howling of the wind, Laura had failed to notice the clomping of extremely heavy feet following her all the way from the school. Laura watched, eyes wide as a huge humanoid creature came sloping into view, dragging a club behind him on the road. The creature was at least eight feet tall, and vaguely orange in colour. Its eyes were scanning the road ahead of it, and it occurred to Laura that this creature was probably looking for her. Every other weird beast seemed to be.

Hidden by the shadows of the alley, the creature didn’t see Laura and her… protector? Now that the girl had hidden Laura from the beast, is that what she was? Laura didn’t even know her name. All that she knew was that wide brown eyes were staring back at her from beneath waves of dark hair. Once she was sure the creature was gone, seemingly too dumb to realise his target may have taken cover, the girl took her hand away from Laura’s mouth and let out a heavy breath.

“Close one, cutie,” the girl said, resting a hand on the hilt of her sword that was strapped to her hip – something Laura had only just noticed.

“Who are you?” Laura asked, taking in the girl’s armour, her sharp features, the way she was instantly relaxed even though not thirty seconds ago she’d been tense and on high-alert. This girl was certainly something.

“Carmilla,” the girl said with a lopsided grin, “You’re a hard girl to find, Laura Hollis.”

In a flash, Laura had Carmilla pinned against the alley wall with her forearm against her throat. “How do you know my name?” She demanded, taking pride in Carmilla’s shocked expression. “How do I know you’re not with that creature just now, leading me into a false sense of security?”

“Relax, buttercup,” Carmilla said, trying to maintain an aura of calmness, “I was sent to protect you from that creature just now, as you put it.”

Laura narrowed her eyes. “How do I know I can trust you? Cause all you’ve done is pull me into a dark alleyway, silence me, and then reveal that you’ve been trying to find me and that you know my name.”

Carmilla sighed. “You may not believe me,” she warned, but carried on regardless. “I was sent to protect you from ancient monsters from thousands of years ago by a centaur who knows your parents.”

“Parents?” Laura’s voice was steely. “Wrong answer, Carmilla – if that’s even your real name. My mother has been dead for fourteen years.”

Carmilla’s eyes softened, despite the fact that she was starting to get a bit breathless from the lack of circulation.

“No she hasn’t,” Carmilla said gently, bringing a hand up to grip Laura’s wrist. “Laura, this may be hard to take, but your mother is alive. Has been for thousands of years, in fact.”

Laura was dumbfounded. “Is this some kind of sick joke?” She asked, but there was no fight in her tone.

“Of course not. Why would I joke about that?” Carmilla reassured her. “I myself thought my father died in an accident before I was born, until I learned the truth.”

“The truth?” Laura questioned, reducing the pressure she had on Carmilla’s throat.

“That he was a god.”

Silence hung between them. Laura’s eyes bored holes in Carmilla’s as she tried to search for any traces of a lie. She couldn’t find any.

“A god,” Laura repeated slowly.

Carmilla nodded. “How much do you know about Greek mythology?”

“The essentials. You know, the gods, Hercules and the like.” Laura said, “Which god is your father then?”

“Hades.”

Laura’s eyes widened. “Hades? As in, the god of death?”

“Yeah. Surprise?” Carmilla joked weakly, eyes flickering around Laura’s face.

“Wait. Didn’t – sorry, _doesn’t_ – Hades have a wife? Persephone, I think.”

Carmilla snorted with laughter. “Please. Silly things like spouses never stopped the Greek gods and goddesses from having flings with mortals.”

“Like your mother?” Laura asked, and Carmilla looked away.

“Yes,” she answered, “and like your father.”

“My dad and a goddess?” Laura’s brain was working hard to catch up. “Oh, that’s so weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Carmilla laughed.

“Huh,” Laura said. She was so lost in thought that she temporarily forgot where she was and who she was with. That is, until Carmilla tapped Laura’s arm with her fingers and cleared her throat.

“Not that I’m not enjoying this, but since we’ve established that I’m on your side, would you mind letting me go?”

Laura realised that she was still pinning Carmilla against the wall, and hastily backed away, watching as Carmilla rubbed her throat.

“Impressive move, by the way, cutie,” she said, “Where’d you learn that?”

“My dad signed me up for Krav Maga at age eight to give me something productive to do.” Laura said. “I have ADHD.”

“I know,” Carmilla said. “Probably dyslexia too.”

Off Laura’s look, Carmilla chuckled. “I do too. So do the vast majority of demigods. ADHD is essentially fighting instinct. It will probably save your life one day. And the dyslexia is because your brain is wired for Ancient Greek, not English.”

“Wow,” Laura said, “That’s… wow.”

Carmilla nodded. “This conversation is always the hardest to have,” she said, “so I think we should talk to your dad.”

“My dad!” Laura remembered, “He’ll be worried sick!”

Without another word, Laura took off running in the direction of her house, Carmilla close behind her.

\----------------

As soon as Mr Hollis had seen the teenage girl clad in bronze armour, he’d known the day had come. The day he’d have to tell Laura the truth, and face losing her for months at a time. He made drinks for the two girls, and they all sat down at the dining table, Carmilla having removed her sword and laying it on the table. Laura seemed fascinated by the sword, reaching out to touch it before catching sight of Carmilla’s smirk and pulling her hand back sheepishly.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, sweetheart,” he addressed his daughter quietly. Carmilla raised her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Laura said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mr Hollis sighed. “The less you knew, the safer you’d be. At least that’s what I thought until today.”

“But surely knowledge is power?” Laura questioned, “If I knew who, or what, I was before now, I wouldn’t have spent years thinking I was crazy for seeing monsters that nobody else could!”

“I’m sorry, Laura,” Mr Hollis said, “I thought I was protecting you.”

“With all due respect,” Carmilla interjected, “the younger the camp can find demigods, the better the chance of survival. It’s incredible that Laura here has lasted this far. How old are you, by the way?” She directed this question to Laura.

“Fourteen.”

“Usually we try to make contact with demigods when they’re eleven or twelve years old,” Carmilla explained, “that’s when the demigods start to be most at risk. Your fighting ability must be quite something to have survived unscathed up until this point.”

Laura didn’t know what to say. “I always carry bear spray.”

Yep, that would do.

Carmilla cracked up in earnest, and it was the first time Laura had heard her laugh properly. She had a nice laugh.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Carmilla said, evidently still amused.

“So, I’m a demigod then? That’s the technical term?”

“Yep,” Carmilla confirmed, “half god, half human. Now here’s where the difficult bit comes in. When we make contact with the demigods, we offer to take them to a sort of summer camp.”

“Summer camp?” Laura was disbelieving.

“Essentially. However, Camp Half Blood trains demigods to fight monsters and suchlike. It’s actually pretty good fun.” Carmilla grinned. “Of course it’s dangerous. You may go on quests which don’t always end well, the lava wall is a real bitch to climb at first, and swordfights are generally how disagreements between campers are settled.”

Mr Hollis looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. “This is why I didn’t tell you, Laura,” he said. “It’s not safe.”

“Dad, it’s not safe anyway.” Laura reasoned. “Wouldn’t you rather I knew how to defend myself if I’m going to get attacked by these monsters anyway?”

“And you will get attacked,” Carmilla supplied, “You have godly blood running through your veins, and monsters can tell. As long as you’re alive, you will always be in their crosshairs. It’s better that you learn how to properly defend yourself with us at Camp Half Blood.”

“So it’s basically a badass Summer Camp?” Laura asked.

“Pretty much, but there is the option of staying all year round. That’s what I do, anyway.” Carmilla said.

“Do I get a sword?”

“If that’s what you want to fight with then yes, you get a sword.” Carmilla said with a lopsided smile (Laura was starting to think of it as her trademark).

“Hold on a second,” Mr Hollis said, “Laura, are you sure about this. It’s all going rather fast.”

“Yes, dad, I’m sure,” Laura said, “Even though I only found out what I am today, it just feels like I’m supposed to go to Camp Half Blood.”

“But what about school?”

“I get normal school lessons too,” Carmilla said, “it’s just as good as a lot of schools out there.”

“Dad, I really think I should go,” Laura said, “I think it’s what my mother would want. Don’t you?”

Mr Hollis sighed. “Yes, she’d definitely want you to go and learn how to defend yourself properly. I thought with the Krav Maga and the bear spray maybe you’d be alright for longer. I just didn’t want to lose you.”

“I’ll come visit, dad. It’s not like you’ll never see me again.” Laura reassured him. “Right, Carmilla? Do you see your mother often?”

Carmilla laughed again, but it was hollow. “My mother and I don’t exactly see eye to eye, cutie. But you can visit your dad whenever you want.”

“Sorry,” Laura said, and Carmilla gave a ‘no worries’ shrug.

“Then I guess you might as well start packing,” Mr Hollis said hesitantly. Laura nodded and stood up from the table.

“Oh, and Laura?”

“Yes, dad?”

“Remember to pack all your bear spray.”

\----------------

An hour, and a heartfelt goodbye later, Laura followed Carmilla out of the front door with a travel bag slung over her shoulder and a backpack full  of bear spray on her back.

“So, where is this Camp Half Blood?” Laura asked.

“Long Island Sound,” Carmilla replied, searching her pockets for something.

“But that’s halfway across America! I haven’t got that kind of money… wait, do you guys even use dollars, or is it-“

“Drachma,” Carmilla announced, pulling a coin from the back pocket of the jeans she was wearing underneath her armour. “And don’t worry about it, I just need this to summon us a ride.”

Ignoring Laura’s confused “What?” Carmilla walked to the edge of the road and threw the golden drachma high up in front of her. As it fell, Carmilla said, loud and clear, “Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês!” (Somehow Laura understood the Greek Carmilla was speaking, and it translated to ‘Stop, Chariot of Damnation!’ which really didn’t sound promising.)

As the drachma hit the tarmac of the road, instead of bouncing or rolling as Laura expected, it sunk straight through the surface as if it was liquid. As if that wasn’t strange enough, smoke was beginning to rise from where it had disappeared, eventually taking the shape of a New York taxi.

Carmilla opened the door for a gobsmacked Laura, shrugging. “As civilisation evolves, so do the gods.”

“I was just thinking I didn’t remember any taxis in the myths,” Laura muttered as she climbed in, Carmilla following suit with a small chuckle.

The women in the front of the taxi – there were three – all turned around as the door closed and Laura struggled to swallow a scream. They had no eyes and no teeth. Well, technically they had one eye and one tooth between them, but it was still a shock.

Paying her no attention, the drivers turned to Carmilla. “Where to?” They asked in unison.

“Camp Half Blood,” Carmilla answered, and then turned to Laura. “Meet the Grey sisters. The driver here is Wasp, in the middle’s Anger and the one on the end there is Tempest.”

“I’m Anger,” snarled the one Carmilla had introduced as Tempest.

“Sorry,” Carmilla said, “you just lost so much weight that I thought…”

“You thought I was fat?!” Anger screamed.

“No, not at all!” Carmilla exclaimed, “I thought you looked lovely; you all look lovely today, have I told you that?”

This seemed to do the trick. The sisters preened, evidently pleased, and then turned back around to face the road. “Step on it, Wasp,” Tempest said, “Looks like small dark and broody has a new recruit.”

Small dark and broody? Laura shot Carmilla a questioning glance, but the girl just shook her head and shrugged. Just then, Laura’s head slammed back into the headrest as the cab shot forwards like it had been electrocuted. Picking up speed, the outside world blurred around her and it made Laura sick to look at, so she settled for closing her eyes. This worked fine until they took a hard left and Laura blindly reached out for something to grip onto.

It was only when the taxi stopped five minutes later with a gut-wrenching squeal that Laura realised she had grabbed hold of Carmilla’s hand. The older girl (at least, Laura assumed she was a bit older) was smirking at her again as she glanced down at their joined hands.

“You’re one for the contact then, cutie? I’ll remember that,” she said with a grin and a wink as Laura pulled her hand away as if burned.

“Shut up,” Laura murmured, feeling her cheeks flush as she followed Carmilla out of the taxi. “I’m sure you did something really embarrassing the first time you travelled by ‘Chariot of Damnation’.”

“I threw up on Anger,” Carmilla recalled. “Maybe that’s why she doesn’t like me.”

“I think you might be onto something,” Laura said dryly as the cab melted into the tarmac once more.

“Anyway,” Carmilla changed the subject as she led Laura up a hill towards a pair of pillars, “Welcome to Camp Half Blood.”

Laura gasped as they reached the summit of the hill. From here, she had a really good view into the valley of a collection of cabins around a grass common area, a block of stables, an honest-to-gods amphitheatre, an archery field, an old house with rickety railings, and towering above them all, what appeared to be a climbing wall with streams of lava running down the sides.

“Wow,” was all she could say.

“Welcome home,” Carmilla said quietly, taking hold of Laura’s hand again and leading her down the grassy slope towards the old house. “Before you get settled in and find out who your godly parent is, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Laura gets to know Camp Half Blood, and a few secrets about herself.
> 
> I may not be able to update until the middle of next week, it depends on if I have internet where I'm going. Just wanted to get this uploaded before I leave :)
> 
> ps. feel free to come shout with me about this au at ilovemyships on tumblr, if you want!

The ‘someone’ Carmilla wanted her to meet turned out to be a centaur. Of course.

Carmilla led Laura down the hill and up to the big old house, sky-blue in colour, which she’d learn was actually called ‘The Big House’, and she knocked on the front door. After only a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal the torso of a middle-aged man with flyaway greying hair, but the rest of his body was that of a grey-white horse. The centaur caught sight of Laura and her gaping mouth and smiled.

“I gather this is the famous Laura Hollis?” he asked Carmilla, who nodded.

“Famous?” Laura asked disbelievingly. “I mean, I really don’t think I’m…”

“’Fraid so, cutie,” Carmilla said, “Remember when I said it was incredible that you’d lasted this long without the Camp’s help? I may have missed out the part where you’ve sort of become a legend around here.”

“What?” Laura was dumbfounded, and she saw Carmilla biting her lip to hold in a laugh.

“Yes, well, regardless of how well you’ve been doing, we thought it would be beneficial to alert you to your true heritage and bring you to Camp in order to train you,” the centaur said. “My name is Chiron, and I am the activities director at Camp Half Blood.”

Chiron held out a hand to Laura, who reached up to shake it. Laura knew she was small – five foot two on a good day – but Chiron’s height really didn’t do wonders for her self-esteem, even if she was apparently famous among the campers. Chiron invited Laura inside, although Carmilla stayed where she was.

“Aren’t you coming?” Laura asked her, and Carmilla shook her head.

“Nah. The chat with Chiron is something you do by yourself.” Carmilla said, “I’ll show you around after dinner if you like.”

Laura nodded, and Carmilla gave a small wave as the door swung closed.

Chiron led her through to what appeared to be a study, and then turned around and regarded her with old, intelligent eyes.

“You’ve been a hard demigod to find, Laura Hollis,” he said, although his tone was warm, “Through the actions of your father; moving around constantly, giving you defence training, and keeping you in the dark about your mother-“

“Who is my mother?” Laura interrupted. “Sorry, I just…”

“Want to know?” Chiron didn’t berate her for her rudeness, “I’m afraid I don’t know. However, you will be claimed by your godly parent in the coming days. Anyway, because of your father, and your presumably extraordinary fighting talents, you have been able to survive without harm almost until your fifteenth birthday which – nowadays – is unheard of.”

“I wouldn’t say my fighting talents are extraordinary,” Laura said, shifting uncomfortably from side to side.

“Nonsense,” said Chiron, “I’m sure as soon as we get you down to training, your talent will become apparent to you.”

Laura nodded, but changed the topic nevertheless. “So if I’m so hard to find, how did you manage it?”

“Carmilla,” said Chiron simply, “I assigned her to find you a few weeks ago, and she’s been trying to track you down ever since. She was originally assigned to observe you, but when you became unaware of an imminent attack she decided to intercept. And when you quite rightfully questioned her, Carmilla thought she may as well inform you of the truth.”

“Wow,” Laura said, “I thought it would’ve been an incredible coincidence for her to be there at the right time. How did you know about the… interception?”

“Carmilla contacted me while you were packing, and filled me in on this afternoon’s events. She’s our best-trained fighter and tracker so we thought she would be the best camper to handle your case.” Chiron told her, and Laura was amazed. Carmilla, who was barely an inch taller and probably not that much older than her, was the Camp’s best fighter. Laura couldn’t wait to see her in action.

Just then, a bell sounded, and Chiron clapped his hands together in delight.

“Dinner,” he explained gleefully.

\----------------

In short, the food looked incredible. A full-on BBQ, with cheese, grapes, and all sorts of other delicious food. In fact, Laura’s only complaint was that there weren’t any cookies. Then again, Laura supposed cookies weren’t exactly a dietary requirement for warriors and swordfighters. From her place sitting next to Carmilla, she couldn’t see any drinks, even though people were already drinking out of their goblets. She was confused until Carmilla said “Cranberry juice”, and her goblet magically filled with the red liquid. Again, Laura’s jaw dropped.

“Order whatever you want,” Carmilla told her, “as long as it’s non-alcoholic.”

Laura scoffed. As if.

“Um, grape soda?” It came out as more of a question than a statement, but the goblet filled anyway. Taking a sip confirmed it was real and not an illusion. Laura was about to tuck into her food when Carmilla got up with her plate and gestured for Laura to follow her. They walked to the centre of the pavilion to where a fire was burning inside a bronze brazier. Carmilla scraped off part of her food and dropped it into the fire. The smoke, instead of smelling like smoke, smelt heavenly.

“O Hades, accept my offering,” Carmilla muttered quietly, bowing her head. The smoke billowed and Carmilla smiled at the fire.

Carmilla stepped back and looked at Laura expectantly. Laura gulped, but stood forward anyway. She pushed some of her food off her plate into the fire, but she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know who her godly parent was.

“Um, hi,” she started, “Whoever’s up there, please accept the food. It looks really good.”

She heard Carmilla snicker behind her, and turned around to glare at her.

“Sorry,” Carmilla laughed, “you’re right though. Let’s eat.”

As it turned out, the food tasted even better than it looked. It wasn’t enough to stop Laura’s worries though. She was supposed to be this incredible badass, and people would surely be expecting a masterclass from her tomorrow. Being new, everyone was also staring at her, stealing glances from their busy tables when they thought she wasn’t looking. Carmilla was the only other person on her table, which Laura found strange.

“Why isn’t there anyone else on this table?” She asked, “I mean, some of those other tables look pretty crowded and there’s plenty of room here.”

“Because you sit according to your parentage,” Carmilla explained. “I’m the only child of Hades here, so this is my table. Normally you’d have to sit with the Hermes kids – they look after all the unclaimed campers – but they’re a bit crowded. I asked my dad if you could sit with me and you haven’t been sucked through the ground yet so that’s a good sign.”

Off Laura’s panicked expression, Carmilla laughed. “You should see your face! It’s okay, the rules on seating are a little more relaxed nowadays, but once you’re claimed you’ll have to sit with your brothers and sisters.”

“Brothers and sisters…” It hadn’t occurred to Laura before now; she’d surely have siblings. But from what she remembered, a lot of the gods were related to each other, too.

“Does that mean everyone’s related?” She asked Carmilla. “Y’know, since lots of the gods are?”

“Thankfully, no,” Carmilla replied, “Simply put, godly DNA doesn’t count. You’re only related to people in your cabin. Makes dating a lot easier.”

“I didn’t know demigods had time to date,” Laura commented, tossing a grape into her mouth.

“Mostly we don’t” Carmilla said, “but you know, if you put a bunch of teenagers together, and get them all sweaty on a daily basis, you’re gonna get some results.” This was accompanied with a suggestive eyebrow raise. “For that reason boys and girls from different cabins aren’t allowed alone in a cabin together. Incredibly heteronormative, if you ask me.”

“Won’t be a problem,” Laura said, smiling into her goblet of grape soda. Carmilla simply winked at her.

“Come on, eat faster. I’ve still got to show you around before it gets dark.”

\----------------

After dinner, Carmilla gave Laura a guided tour of the Camp.

She showed her the cabins first of all, several of the buildings forming a Greek Omega, Ω, around the centre, where some kids were engaged in a game of basketball. Among them was a tall redheaded girl, scoring point after point and high-fiving her friends. She caught sight of Laura and Carmilla and jogged over.

“Good to finally meet you, Hollis,” she said, shaking Laura’s hand warmly, “we’ve all heard a lot about you.”

“Laura, this is Lawrence. She’s a daughter of Nike,” Carmilla said, eyeing the redhead with vague amusement.

“Danny Lawrence,” the girl introduced herself properly. “Nike’s the goddess of victory, so we tend to do pretty well,” she said, gesturing to the basketball game behind her. “Those Apollo boys don’t stand a chance!”

Laura looked behind her to see a tall boy approaching them too. He was out of breath from the exertions of chasing Danny’s team across the court.

“Come on, D-Bear,” he panted, “you’ve got a game to lose.”

“For the last time, Kirsch, don’t call me ‘D-Bear’,” Danny sighed, “and we’re beating you by thirty points.”

The boy named Kirsch shrugged. It was then that he saw Laura.

“Woah. Dude, you’re so tiny! D-Bear, check it out, she’s even smaller than Karnstein!” Kirsch exclaimed. “I’m Kirsch, son of Apollo.”

“Apollo?” Laura was confused. “As in, the god of music and poetry.”

Danny snorted. “Ironically, he’s tone deaf. You’ll find that another quality of Apollo kids is that they all act like frat boys.”

“Right. Well, Kirsch, I’m quite aware of how small I am, thank you,” Laura said, “And if what I’ve heard about Carmilla is true, it seems the best fighters around here are small and quick.”

“Come on, cupcake,” Carmilla took her elbow to lead her away from Danny and Kirsch, “you can catch up with your new buddies tomorrow. It’ll be dark before too long.”

Laura allowed herself to be guided away, waving goodbye to Danny and Kirsch, who were already shoulder-shoving each other on the way back to the game.

The next thing Carmilla showed her was the climbing wall.

(“You’ll probably climb this tomorrow, but there’ll be lava so bring sunscreen. Maybe a spare change of clothes,” Carmilla warned.)

That led to the amphitheatre (“Campfire singalongs every Friday. Be prepared, ‘cause some of the little ones take that shit seriously,”), the arts and crafts hut (“You will make a truly alarming quantity of ceramic pots,”), the volleyball courts (“If Lawrence and her crew aren’t playing basketball, they’ll be here. I swear that girl never stops running,”), the strawberry fields (“You may notice the chariot track around the edge. Once a month there’s a race and it often ends in the infirmary,”), the stables (“The horses and pegasi are pretty cool, once they get used to you. You’ll have riding lessons every other day so be prepared to fall off a lot,”), the armoury (“I’ll take you back here to get your weapon of choice tomorrow morning, so you can stop giving me the puppy dog eyes,”), the arena (“Swordfighting lessons. That is all you need to know,”), and finally the beach.

“I like to come to the beach a lot,” Carmilla said, dropping to sit on the sand. “It helps me clear my head when the combined adrenaline gets too much in the Camp.”

Laura sat down beside her, mind buzzing from all that she had been shown in the last hour. The sun had almost set as they looked out over the sea, hearing the waves crashing against the sand. Everything was just so surreal. And she still didn’t know who her mother was. When Carmilla had explained whose cabin was whose, Laura had found herself wondering if that was the cabin for her. She wondered if there was a goddess of luck; something she seemed to be experiencing a lot of right now.

They sat in silence for a while as the sun gradually got lower. Eventually, Carmilla sighed and started to heave herself to her feet.

“Come on,” she said reluctantly, holding out a hand to haul Laura up, “if we don’t get back, the harpies will have us.”

“I’m sorry, the what-now?”

“Harpies,” Carmilla said, “they’re like people crossed with dodo birds, except they can fly. They’re sent to eat campers out of bed after curfew.”

Laura started laughing, and Carmilla shook her head. “You think I’m kidding.”

“Well, aren’t you?” Laura asked.

Only she never got an answer. Carmilla looked over at Laura and her eyed widened, then she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. Confused, Laura twisted around to look behind her, and, seeing nothing, she turned back around to face Carmilla.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I’m bowing,” Carmilla said, as if it were obvious, “what does it look like I’m doing?”

“Why are you bowing?” Laura was still perplexed. It was then that she noticed a green glow above her in her peripheral vision.

“Laura, you’ve just been claimed by your mother.”

Laura looked up just in time to see the glowing green owl fade above her head. Wracking her brain for whose sign that was, Laura came up empty.

She looked down at Carmilla to see the other girl giving her that same lopsided smirk Laura had become used to over the course of that day.

“All hail Laura Hollis,” Carmilla quirked an eyebrow playfully, “Daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.”

\----------------

The next fifteen minutes were a rush for Laura. First, Carmilla took her back to the Big House to fetch her bags. Then, she escorted Laura to the Athena cabin – number ten – and introduced her to her brothers and sisters. Laura thanked Carmilla for all her help that day, and the guided tour of the Camp, and Carmilla reiterated her promise to take Laura weapons browsing the next morning. Before she left, Carmilla made a show of doffing her imaginary cap to Laura, bowing low and pressing her lips to Laura’s knuckles before flouncing off with an exaggerated “m’lady”.

This left a slightly flustered Laura to deal with her brothers and sisters. One boy stepped forwards immediately; a shy-looking guy with quite long brown hair. He shook Laura’s hand eagerly.

“My name’s JP Armitage,” he said, and Laura immediately noticed his English accent, “I’m the head counsellor of the Athena cabin.”

“Nice to meet you. All of you,” Laura addressed her siblings (that still felt weird. All of this felt weird) with a smile, clutching the strap of her backpack with her free hand. JP showed her to her bed, a free one at the end of a row. Including her, there were twelve kids in the cabin. Seven girls and five boys. Laura put some of her clothes in the small set of drawers by her bed, and took her pyjamas out of her bag. She spotted a door that was probably a bathroom, and excused herself to change. One bathroom between twelve kids. That could develop into a problem.

After changing, Laura stepped back into the main room of the cabin. The other Athena kids, who had been murmuring amongst themselves, instantly stopped. Laura knew they’d been talking about her. Probably about her supposed fighting skill, Laura thought. And that had been the main worry that had been niggling at her all afternoon, ever since her talk with Chiron. According to him, Laura was some ready-made badass who would blow everyone else out of the water tomorrow, simply because she had survived almost until her fifteenth birthday without any help.

Except she’d had help. As much as she didn’t like to admit it, her dad keeping her in the dark probably helped up until that day. Him constantly moving them around the country, signing Laura up for Krav Maga at a young age, and making sure she was armed with her trusty bear spray had definitely helped. In fact, Laura wondered what would’ve happened if Carmilla hadn’t been there. Would Laura have managed to either fight or hide from the beast that had been tracking her, or would she be laying injured in a hospital bed with strange injuries? Would she be dead if it wasn’t for Carmilla? Laura supposed there was no way to know for sure, but the thought still made her anxious. What if she fell on her face as soon as she picked up a sword? She’d never fought with one before. Chiron was clearly expecting a lot from her. Her brothers and sisters, as well as the other campers, were probably expecting her to wow them the next day.

Maybe Carmilla was expecting her to be better than even herself.

No, Laura reasoned, from what she had seen of Carmilla today, she was the only one who seemed to understand Laura’s situation. She hadn’t been afraid to pull Laura out of harm’s way if needed. She had immediately explained all she could when Laura had shoved her up against the wall and demanded answers.

Gods. Carmilla’s first impression of her had probably been… something. Laura supposed it wasn’t every day that Carmilla was restrained and questioned quite so vehemently, but in Laura’s defence, she was perfectly within her rights to be suspicious. Carmilla was a stranger.

Not any more, though.

Throughout the afternoon, Carmilla had been keeping an eye on Laura, that much was clear. But she was never stifling. It was almost like she wanted to see what kind of a personality Laura had; trying to gauge whether or not she’d be a valuable asset to the Camp. But that didn’t explain the hints of what even Laura recognised as flirting. Sure, Laura had indirectly told Carmilla she was gay, and had received a wink in response, but that didn’t have to mean anything. Maybe Carmilla was just a wink-y person. Besides, even if Carmilla was flirting with her, Laura still had to wrap her head around so much. This whole place was incredible, demigods were real. For gods’ sake (the plural was still something she was getting used to) the supposedly mythical Greek gods and goddesses were alive and kicking in the twenty-first century. That was something Laura never thought would even be close to reality.

Just in case, she pinched herself.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-short chapter cause I'm switching laptops and also going to Uni tomorrow so yeah enjoy :) Next one will be extra-long to make up for this one!
> 
> p.s if you feel like it come flail with me on tumblr @ ilovemyships

Laura’s first thought the next morning was ‘where the hell am I?’

Her next thought was as the previous day’s memories came flooding back to her, and was more along the lines of ‘holy crap’.

Sitting up and looking around the room, Laura saw that she was the first one awake. Pulling the covers back, she grabbed some clothes from her drawers and padded across the room to the bathroom to change. That was still something she was getting used to; sharing her space with quite so many other people.

Once she had changed, Laura went back into the main room of the cabin to find JP was now awake and stretching, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Laura,” he said, “did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Laura said, relieved at JP’s sincerity. After the whispering last night, Laura was half-expecting them to ignore her or something. She still wasn’t sure what exactly that had been about. “What time is it?” She asked the head counsellor.

JP checked his watch. “Eight am.”

Laura nodded, and there was silence for a few seconds until JP spoke again.

“Carmilla should be here soon, if that was what you were wondering,” he said, and Laura started.

“What? No, I’m not worried about her showing up,” Laura said, trying not to sound too defensive.

JP put his hands up in surrender. “Just saying, she seemed to have you a bit flushed last night.”

“I…” Laura didn’t really have a comeback for that at all.

“If I were you, I’d be careful,” JP warned.

“Why? Carmilla seems nice enough. Not that I’m… flushed, as you put it,” Laura added quickly.

“Oh, not of Carmilla,” JP said, “she’s mostly okay. I’m talking about her ex, Elsie.”

“Bad breakup?” Laura asked.

“Kind of. It’s more that Elsie’s not even close to being over it. She got a little possessive and Carmilla ended it,” JP explained. “Although, I’m not sure Carmilla ever got over what happened to her first girlfriend.”

“Good to know the gossip around Camp is alive and well,” came a drawled voice from the doorway. Laura and JP both jerked their heads up to see Carmilla leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded.

“Carmilla, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Laura started, but Carmilla held up a hand and Laura was silenced.

“Relax, cutie, I’m not mad,” she said calmly, “I just wished certain people – “ she glared at JP – “wouldn’t contribute to the various rumours about me that seem to be all over this Camp.”

JP suddenly found the floor very appealing indeed. Carmilla jerked her head to gesture behind her.

“Come on, I do believe that I promised you a sword.”

Laura squealed and clapped her hands. “Finally!”

\----------------

“I’m sorry about before,” Laura said as they neared the armoury, “Like I said, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Carmilla shook her head, “You were going to hear about my stellar dating history one way or another,” she said, “so it might as well be from one of your brainbox brothers.”

“The Camp has a bit of a fascination with you, huh?” Laura asked, and Carmilla gave a hollow laugh.

“You could say that.”

Confused, Laura was about to ask what exactly Carmilla meant, but by then they’d reached the armoury and her mind was occupied with other things like the prospect of her very own weapon to train with.

Carmilla opened the door and they stepped inside. The walls were hung with swords, spears and shields, and knives were lined up across a couple of tables on one side. The furnace and equipment which was presumably how the weapons were created was in the middle, creating a combination of a workshop and a store.

“The Hephaestus kids are pretty good with crafting weaponry,” Carmilla explained, “although none of them are in here right now so you’ll have to choose from the range that’s already been made.”

This was not a problem for Laura, given how much of a range there was before her. She walked slowly around the room, taking in everything. She reached out to touch one of the blades and was fascinated by the glint of the blade.

“What are these made of?” She asked. She’d never seen anything like it.

“Celestial Bronze,” Carmilla answered. “Great for killing monsters, useless on mortals.”

“Is yours made of Celestial Bronze too?” Laura asked.

Carmilla nodded, “However, as a daughter of Hades I can wield Stygian Iron. In fact…” she unsheathed a small knife from her belt and held it out for Laura to see, “this knife was a gift from my father.”

Laura gaped at the weapon. It was jet black, and seemed to actually be sucking light into it, almost like a black hole. Laura could see why only children of Hades carried Stygian Iron.

“Are there any other materials these weapons are made out of?” Laura’s curiosity was overwhelming.

“Well, Camp Jupiter use Imperial Gold, but I don’t think it’s as good as Celestial Bronze,” Carmilla said.

“Who are Camp Jupiter?” Laura had never heard of them, but Jupiter wasn’t Greek, he was…

“Romans,” Carmilla said, and there was a slight edge to her voice. Laura guessed the two camps had a rivalry. “They’re based on the other side of the country in San Francisco. Up until a few years ago we didn’t even know they existed.”

“Wow,” Laura was completely enthralled in this new world she’d become a part of.

“Enough gossip,” Carmilla said suddenly, clapping her hands together, “you need to pick a weapon.”

Laura had almost forgotten the reason she was even in the armoury. “Right, of course.”

She studied the choice of swords on the wall, picking up a few to test their weight and balance. Most were too heavy; although Laura was strong and lithe from her Krav Maga training, her muscles weren’t quite ready for the heavier swords the armoury stocked. Eventually she found one that felt perfect in her hand; a three-foot long blade with a comfortable leather grip. She looked to Carmilla for her opinion, and Carmilla gave her a thumbs-up of approval.

“You going to name it?” Carmilla asked.

“Why, does everyone?”

“Some do and some don’t,” Carmilla said, “I don’t bother but others are big on it.”

“Hmm,” Laura considered, changing her grip experimentally, “I don’t know, maybe a name will come to me after today.”

“Maybe,” Carmilla agreed.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” Laura smiled. And she meant it.

“I mean, it’s just the armoury; you probably could’ve found it by yourself,” Carmilla said.

“No, I meant thank you for bringing me to Camp Half Blood,” Laura said, “I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and strangely, it already kind of feels like home. And I have you to thank for that.”

“Oh,” Carmilla looked taken aback, “Sure. I mean… yeah, you’re welcome.”

She gave Laura a genuine smile, not breaking eye contact, and suddenly the moment was a bit much. Laura blinked and looked away at her sword, and the silence was interrupted by the rumble of her stomach.

Carmilla snorted. “Come on, champ. I think it’s probably time for breakfast.

\----------------

After breakfast, Laura learned she would be having her first sword-fighting lesson in the arena. With a heady mixture of excitement and nerves, she followed her brothers and sisters, as well as the kids from a couple of other cabins, down to the arena. To her surprise, Danny Lawrence, the redheaded girl from the previous evening, was waiting for them. She was evidently their instructor.

“Morning, guys,” she greeted them, already in her orange Camp Half Blood T-Shirt, which clashed brilliantly with her hair. “Today I thought we’d go over what we learned last time about technique, and I’ll bring our new camper up to speed.”

Everyone else split off into pairs, and Danny made her way over.

“Hey,” she said, her tone light and friendly, “let’s see what you can do.”

There it was again. The expectation that Laura was going to be great. She was starting to get a bit tired of the nerves in the pit of her stomach whenever anybody mentioned it.

Danny held her sword up and encouraged Laura to try and land a blow. She couldn’t. Of course she couldn’t, Danny was clearly a sword-fighting expert as well as having a foot in height and probably about five years in age on her. The redhead parried every single strike. After a few minutes of this, Laura’s arms were already beginning to tire, which Danny seemed to notice.

“Okay,” she said, motioning for Laura to stop. “This time I’ll try to strike you, and you block me.”

Laura was better at blocking. Her reflexes were lightning fast, and even though Danny was almost certainly going easy on her, she parried the taller girl’s strikes without too much trouble. After a while, Danny stopped and told her to take five, as Laura was sweating simply from the effort of manoeuvring the sword.

“Not bad, Hollis,” Danny said, only slightly out of breath herself, “Try and get in closer when you’re attacking; it’ll help. But you’ve got good reflexes, even for a demigod, so you’ve got a solid starting point. And the muscles will come,” she promised, as Laura wiped her brow with the back of her free hand.

“I think in terms of height we might pair you up with LaFontaine,” Danny continued, gesturing over to a short-haired teenager who was lying flat on the floor dramatically. “They’re a good sparring partner for you. Or possibly Karnstein; she’s only an inch taller and a year older than you, but she is one of the best sword-fighters here. Maybe once you’re beating LaF easily we’ll move you up to partner her.”

Laura could only nod at Danny’s spiel.

“Although,” Danny said, motioning for Laura to raise her sword and strike again, “maybe Karnstein would go easy on you.”

Laura wasn’t quite sure how to react to that.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I started Uni just after publishing the last chapter and, well, the last few weeks have been crazy! But I've settled in now so hopefully updates will be more frequent. I'll aim for a new chapter every week, how does that sound?
> 
> Ps I'm ilovemyships on tumblr so feel free to message me on there cause I really love to talk about this fic!

“What do you mean, ‘maybe Karnstein would go easy on you’?” Laura asked as she tried to block Danny’s strikes as best she could.

Danny shrugged as she feinted left and went right, catching Laura off-guard and easily disarming her. “Nothing really,” she said as Laura retrieved her sword, “just that she’s been different the past couple of days. Less angry, I guess.”

“And what does that have to do with me?” Laura asked, taking the initiative and lunging at Danny, who saw her attack coming and parried her strike away.

“Maybe nothing. Maybe something,” Danny said evasively, “Look, I don’t pretend to understand the inner workings of Karnstein’s twisted mind, but I do know she’s not usually so docile.”

“Wow. You guys are really into judging her, aren’t you?” Laura was getting a bit annoyed now, and not just because she couldn’t seem to land a strike on Danny. First JP was gossiping about Carmilla’s past relationships, and now Danny was calling her ‘twisted’. And okay, maybe Laura had engaged in those conversations too, but it just got to her that neither of them were talking about how great of a fighter she apparently was, for example. All they did was talk about her personal life. Laura had only found out about her skills from Chiron the activities director.

“Well, nobody knows that much about her,” Danny said bluntly. “She camps here all year round, she hardly tells us anything about herself; hell, all we know about her for sure is she’s snarky and a daughter of Hades. That’s a warning sign in itself.”

“What, just because her dad is the god of death?”

“They’re all bad news, Laura.”

Laura snapped, swinging her sword with more strength than she knew she had. Danny yelped as her sword clattered to the ground, taken unawares by Laura’s sudden challenge. The rest of the group stopped what they were doing to gawk at Laura and Danny. Laura was breathing hard, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. The sudden adrenaline rush was beginning to fade, and her arms felt heavy.

“I think we’ll call it a day,” Danny said, watching Laura curiously. “Everybody get some rest.”

Laura turned on her heel and hurried away, already feeling the flush of embarrassment warm her cheeks.

She made it as far as the amphitheatre, not really sure where she was going, when she sensed someone falling into step beside her. She turned her head to see LaFontaine, the one Danny was going to pair her with for sparring.

“That was quite the first impression,” they said, grinning at her.

Laura sighed. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“No, don’t apologise. If that had been a real fight, that anger would’ve saved your life. Embrace it,” LaF told her. “I’m LaFontaine, by the way, child of Hermes.”

“The god of travellers, right?” Laura tried to remember.

“And thieves,” LaF supplied with a wicked smile.

“Nice to meet you,” Laura stopped and held out her hand, which LaF shook, “I’m Laura, daughter of Athena.” She stopped for a second and pulled a face. “Feels weird to introduce myself like that.”

LaFontaine chuckled. “Tell me about it,” they said. “Hey, you’re in JP’s cabin!”

“Yeah,” Laura smiled. “I guess that means he’s my half-brother.” She said, the realisation finally sinking in fully.

“Don’t think about it too much,” LaF advised, “it’ll just end up creeping you out.”

“Right,” Laura said, pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind. “Are there some campers here who don’t have any siblings?” she asked.

“Um, well Carmilla’s the only one in the Hades cabin right now,” LaF said, “but she’s not the only child of Hades out there, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I didn’t – why does everyone think I’m asking about Carmilla?” Laura said defensively.

“Chill,” LaF said, putting a hand on Laura’s shoulder, “I just talked to JP earlier and he may have mentioned you guys were discussing Carmilla.”

“Hey, he was the one who started it!”

“I know.” LaF seemed amused by Laura’s tone, “You’re not alone in wanting to know more about Carmilla. She’s, like, the Camp’s ‘it girl’, you know what I mean?”

Laura nodded, and she relaxed a bit. She made a mental note to keep this defensiveness in check.

“By the way, Hades isn’t the god of death,” LaFontaine said conversationally.

“What?” Laura was confused.

“Yeah, that’s Thanatos. Although I don’t know if he’s a god. Basically, he’s the personification of death, and kind of Hades’ lackey. Hades is the god of the Underworld; there’s a difference. Just thought you should know for the next time you pick a fight and embarrass the instructor in front of her class.” LaF could barely contain their glee.

Laura groaned. “About that: I don’t really know what happened.”

LaFontaine snickered. “Of course you do. Lawrence was insulting your girl so you put her in her place.”

Laura gaped. “That’s not – we’re not – Carmilla is not ‘my girl’!” she said hotly.

By this point, LaF looked as though Christmas had come early. “Wow, Jeep was right. Karnstein really does have you flushed!”

Laura could feel herself turning red. Great. She was literally flushed.

“Okay, maybe I am a bit… flushed. But can you blame me?” Laura appealed, hoping LaF would understand.

“Sorry, dude,” LaF shrugged, “my heart belongs to another.”

Before Laura had the chance to question them, another voice joined the conversation.

“Who’s got you flushed, cutie?” Carmilla sauntered over, smirking slightly, and Laura wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

“No-one,” she said hurriedly. _You,_ she thought.

LaFontaine was biting their thumb, shaking with contained laughter. Carmilla raised her eyebrows.

\----------------

After extracting herself from what could have been an extremely awkward conversation, Laura was rounded up by Kirsch, the boy from the Apollo cabin, for her first attempt at the lava climbing wall. Carmilla and LaFontaine were there too, and Laura was beginning to think she’d never be able to escape from either of them, and was doomed to embarrass herself forever. Better yet, word had gotten back to Carmilla about the events of the sword-fighting lesson, and she was sneaking glances at Laura every few minutes, but not actually saying anything, and Laura didn’t really know what to do about that.

LaF was first to go, and for all they seemed not to take many things seriously, they were quick as lightning up that wall. They made it to the top unscathed, and Kirsch disabled the lava so they could abseil back down. The whole thing made Laura feel rather sick.

Others weren’t as quick as LaF, and one kid even had to be taken to the infirmary for his burns. Kirsch explained that while the lava was real, it had been modified enough so that it wasn’t lethal. This didn’t exactly soothe Laura much.

Carmilla went next, and Laura could see why she was the Camp’s best. She was even quicker than LaFontaine up the wall, and she made the climb look effortless. She didn’t even seem out of breath as she abseiled back down the face of the wall and rejoined the group.

And then it was Laura’s turn. Kirsch gave her a few pointers as he strapped her into the climbing harness, most of which was white noise to her. She stood at the bottom of the wall, looking up at the looming structure above her. Fear and adrenaline were coursing through her veins. She chanced a look back at Carmilla and LaF, the latter of which gave her a thumbs-up. Carmilla just nodded at her.

Kirsch set her off, and Laura let her survival instincts take over. She’d never been bad at climbing, per se, but now it was like her brain couldn’t keep up with her limbs. Amazed at her own reflexes, Laura was halfway up the wall before she risked a look down. Oh. The lava was closer than she thought it was. Picking up her speed even more, she tried to put some more distance between herself and the lava. She had almost made it to the top when her foot slipped and she felt the heat on her toes. Wildly, Laura kicked at the wall, accidentally sending drops of lava towards her shirt. Ignoring the pain, she scrambled to the top and over the barrier into the little box right at the peak. She collapsed into a sitting position and tried to put her head between her knees, fearing she was going to pass out. Dimly, she registered cheering from below, but the sound was tinny in her ears, second to the sound of her racing heart.

Slowly, she stood up, looking back down the face of the wall. The lava was gone, and Kirsch was motioning for her to come back down. Laura abseiled shakily down the wall until her feet hit solid ground and her knees buckled. Someone was there in an instant, helping to keep her upright. Laura saw dark hair spilling over her helper’s face as she threw Laura’s arm over her shoulder.

“C’mon, cupcake,” she said, and there was only one person who would call her that, “let’s get those burns seen to.”

“Burns?” Laura asked, but even as she said it, she became more aware of the stinging sensation on her stomach. She looked down, and saw a gaping hole in her t-shirt just below her ribs, where the skin was bright red. “Oh no.”

“It’ll be fine,” Carmilla reassured her, and started walking them over to the infirmary. “We can get those healed in about two minutes, and then they’ll be practically painless.”

Laura was doubtful, but she didn’t protest. She watched her feet take turns hitting the ground, and then it became clear why Carmilla was helping her walk. The toe of one of her trainers had been singed off, and she was walking with a slight limp which – due to the pain on her midriff – she hadn’t noticed.

“Oops.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Relax, Laura,” Carmilla chatted away with her as they neared the infirmary. “You did a hell of a lot better than most people do on their first go. That ninja kick when you missed your footing was quite something. Of course, it meant you splashed lava on your tummy, which is never a good thing, but it was a pretty sweet kick.”

“Great,” Laura said, “at least it was a pretty sweet kick.”

“Sorry,” Carmilla grimaced.

“You called me Laura.”

“Did I?” Carmilla said, “How clumsy of me. Cutie.”

Laura groaned. “I hate you,” she said weakly.

Carmilla chuckled. “Not from what I heard, you don’t.”

Laura’s eyes widened. “What did you hear?” she asked cautiously.

Carmilla didn’t answer. Biting back a grin, she gestured with a nod to the huge tent-like structure in front of them. “We’re here.”

\----------------

Laura was given some ambrosia which – incredibly – healed her burns almost instantly. Apparently it was the food of the gods.

“Pretty powerful stuff then?” she asked Carmilla as they walked over to the amphitheatre later that evening, after yet another excellent dinner. Laura could barely feel the discomfort of where the burns had been, and her limp was completely gone.

“Yep. And it tastes different to everyone.”

“It tasted of chocolate chip cookies for me,” Laura commented. “So what does ambrosia taste like to you?”

“Blood,” Carmilla said. After a moment, she cracked up laughing. “You should see your face!”

Laura, who had been suffering a momentary heart attack, swatted at Carmilla’s arm half-heartedly. “Oh my gods, I thought you were being serious. I was trying to come up with a non-judgemental answer!”

“Sorry,” Carmilla said, not sounding sorry at all.

“In all seriousness though, what does it taste like for you?” Laura pressed.

“It used to be strawberries,” Carmilla said, laughter subsiding, “but it changed about a year ago.”

“I didn’t know that could happen,” Laura said, “then again, I didn’t know it even existed a couple of hours ago.”

“If something big happens – like, something traumatic, I guess, and it’s to do with the memory of that taste, it tends to put you off it a bit.” Carmilla said, and even Laura knew she shouldn’t push any further. Carmilla, who was usually so open with her, was tense and guarded. Laura didn’t like it.

She nodded, and changed the topic. “So… campfire, huh?”

Carmilla cracked a smile, and Laura instantly felt happier. “Yeah. Prepare yourself, because most of these people can’t sing for shit.”

“Is that all this is for? Singing songs and roasting marshmallows?” Laura asked, a bit confused as to why the Camp held these ‘meetings’.

“Nah, they get us up to date on the news. You know, the demigod kind of news.” Carmilla explained. “I wouldn’t worry though, there hasn’t really been much happening as of late.”

\----------------

“You just had to say nothing had been happening,” Laura leaned over and commented to Carmilla as whispers broke out amongst the campers.

Carmilla shrugged. “I must’ve jinxed us all.” She said drily.

The amphitheatre was currently in a bit of chaos, as Chiron had just announced that Hades’ chariot had been stolen from the Underworld. Naturally, this was a big deal, as apparently gods’ precious items weren’t usually stolen, but when they were…

“Let’s just say it ain’t pretty,” Carmilla grimaced.

“What’s gonna happen?” Laura asked, “Is Hades just going to rip the world apart until he finds it?”

“Hardly,” Carmilla laughed humourlessly. “The Underworld’s too busy for him to leave, so he expects some of us to find it for him. There’ll be a quest announcement any minute now.”

“What? So do the gods always send their kids on errands that could potentially kill them? Or is it only on Fridays?” Laura was aghast. The only thing she’d heard about quests was that they were often extremely dangerous.

“The gods are pretty lazy,” Carmilla whispered in a faux-confidential manner.

Chiron called the campers to attention to continue his speech.

“Of course, this event calls for a quest.”

Carmilla rolled her eyes. “What did I tell you?”

“Now I’m sure that Hades is extremely worried about his chariot,” Chiron continued, “In the wrong hands, there could be a lot of chaos caused in the mortal world. Therefore I’m sure he would want to be able to trust and rely on the leader of this quest. Carmilla Karnstein, daughter of Hades, do you accept this responsibility?”

Laura’s head snapped over to look at the girl sitting next to her. She looked unfazed.

“I accept,” she said flatly, heaving herself to her feet. “I’ll return dad’s stupid chariot.”

There was a ripple of nervous laughter. Laura couldn’t believe this. One minute Carmilla was sitting beside her, making snarky comments about the gods, and the next she was volunteering for a potentially lethal mission to find a stolen chariot. She just didn’t understand the mentality of these campers.

“As you all know, Carmilla won’t be alone during this quest,” Chiron continued, which caught Laura’s attention. “Quests are customarily done in groups of three – which the Greeks considered to be a lucky number. So, Carmilla: Who do you choose to accompany you?”

Laura could see many people raise their hands, and just as many shrink into the shadows. She did neither; she was interested to see how this played out. She could see Danny Lawrence standing up, ready to volunteer.

“Sit down, Xena,” Carmilla sneered, “I’m only taking people I could theoretically stand to be around for long periods of time.”

A blonde girl around Carmilla’s age stood up too. “Elsie, no.” Carmilla said bluntly, looking suddenly very tired.

She turned her attention to LaFontaine. “You wanna come with, LaF? I could use that mad scientist brain of yours.”

LaF stood up as Elsie and Danny sat back down. “You bet,” they said, and high-fived Carmilla.

“One more camper to choose, Carmilla,” Chiron reminded her.

“I know, I can count,” Carmilla muttered under her breath, and Laura chuckled to herself. Carmilla peered down at her from behind her bangs, and a smile slowly stretched across her lips.

“What do you say, cutie?” she asked teasingly, “Wanna help me find this stupid chariot?”

“I…” Laura didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, it would be incredibly dangerous. She could die. And for what? The god of the Underworld’s prized chariot? On the other hand, Carmilla and LaF were the only friends she had here, and she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to either of them while she was powerless to help them. Also, Elsie still seemed to be gunning for the third spot, and Laura didn’t really want Carmilla to have to deal with her overly-clingy ex on this quest. At least that’s the reasoning Laura convinced herself with.

She looked into Carmilla’s dark eyes, which seemed to glow in the light from the campfire. “Yes.”

A cheer went up from the campers, and the fire roared. They had their quest.

“Alright,” Chiron looked a bit worried about this combination of people. “You three stay behind, and I’ll give you further instruction. Everyone else, you may go.”

The campers, already gossiping amongst themselves, left in a massive group, leaving LaFontaine, Carmilla and Laura in the suddenly very large-seeming amphitheatre. They made their way down the stone steps until they met with Chiron by the campfire. He gave Carmilla a look.

“Are you sure about this group, Carmilla?” he asked. “I’m sure Danny would be-“

“Danny would be dead within a week.” Carmilla said bluntly, “She doesn’t think before she leaps headfirst into dangerous situations. Also, I don’t like her.”

Chiron rolled his eyes. “Very well. But are you sure Laura’s ready for this?”

“Honestly? Yes, I think she could be. All I know is, there’s only one way to find out for sure,” Carmilla said, “And I’d much rather her first quest be with me. That way I know she’ll be as safe as one can be when on a potentially lethal mission.”

“Fine,” Chiron said, and turned his attention to all three of them. “You will leave tomorrow at nine a.m. sharp. Report to the Big House at eight-thirty for provisions and extra weaponry. I wish you all a safe and successful quest. You may go.”

Laura was only half-listening. She was still mulling over Carmilla’s words. _I’d much rather her first quest be with me._ Clearly Carmilla felt some sort of responsibility – no, possibly care – towards her; enough so that she invited Laura to accompany her. Secretly, Laura was starting to feel excited. The thrill of a quest, a chance to do something meaningful (even if it was for a lazy god) was a very interesting prospect. Plus, it would bring her closer to Carmilla and LaF, the two people she had found herself growing attached to.

As the three of them walked out of the amphitheatre, a flash of red curls surged past Laura and threw themselves at LaFontaine. It took a moment for Laura to realise the curls were the hair of a girl who was hugging LaF tightly and speaking at a million miles an hour. Carmilla cast Laura an amused smile.

“Perry, it’s gonna be fine. You know Carmilla, she won’t let anything happen to me,” LaF was reassuring the worried girl in their arms, stroking her hair softly.

Carmilla bit her lip and looked away. Laura could understand why. As LaFontaine comforted Perry, it suddenly felt as though they were intruding on a private moment.

“But you’re my best friend,” Laura could hear Perry saying, “What will I do without you until you come back? _If_ you come back!”

“Perr, listen to me,” LaF said firmly. “I’m coming back. You’re stuck with me forever, remember?”

Perry nodded and sniffed, holding LaF tightly against her. “Yeah,” she said. “Just be careful?”

“Of course.” LaF replied, and their voice was the softest Laura had ever heard. She suddenly realised what LaF had meant when they said their heart belonged to another.

“Oh,” Laura said.

She felt Carmilla take her hand and tug gently. “Come on,” she said quietly, “let’s leave the Bobbsey twins alone.”

 Carmilla led her away, back to the Athena cabin. She didn’t let go of Laura’s hand, and Laura didn’t want her to. They stopped outside Laura’s cabin.

 “Last chance to back out,” Carmilla warned. “It’s gonna be dangerous.”

 “I’m counting on it,” Laura allowed herself a nervous smile.

 “I know you don’t need me to protect you and that you can look after yourself,” Carmilla said, “but I just want you to know that I’ll have your back out there.”

 “Thanks,” Laura said, “Same here.”

 Carmilla nodded. “See you tomorrow morning.”

“Right,” Laura said, not moving from where she was standing.

“Laura,” Carmilla prompted, and Laura snapped back to the cold evening air. She dropped Carmilla’s hand and stepped back, almost falling over a flowerpot some bright spark had cast near the door to the cabin. Great. Carmilla caught her elbow and steadied her, before letting go again and walking off into the night.

“Get some rest, cutie,” she said, just before the darkness swallowed her, “you’re sure as hell gonna need it.”


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the quest begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look guys, it's actual plot! I've got a list of bullet points and a plan for the ending and everything!

Laura barely slept that night.

Mostly it was due to nerves, since she _was_ about to go on a dangerous quest where she could possibly die and all, but she couldn’t deny she was excited too. Maybe this was what being a demigod and a hero was all about; rising to the challenges you were faced with. And it wasn’t like she would be facing these challenges alone. She would have Carmilla and LaFontaine by her side, and she knew they would have her back. At some point during the early hours, she had dozed off for a while, but when she awoke, the sky was still dark.

She started thinking about this impending quest in more depth. Why was it that three people went? Laura knew Chiron had said the previous evening that the Greeks had considered three a lucky number, but was the Camp really so superstitious that they couldn’t add an extra person? Making a mental note to ask the others later, Laura rolled over in her bed and tried to get back to sleep.

Turned out sleep was a real bitch, and evaded her for the rest of the night.

It was eight am when Laura’s alarm went off. Already sat up in her bed and fully clothed, she switched the alarm off and stood up. She grabbed her sword – which she still hadn’t named – and filled her backpack with the cookies and grape soda she had smuggled in when she’d arrived a few days ago. Making her way towards the door, she noticed JP stirring in his bed. He was awake before she could leave, and he stood up to meet her.

“Good luck, Laura,” he said solemnly, holding out a hand for Laura to shake. Laura thought back to their first conversation two days ago; how JP had shaken her hand so eagerly. This was much more subdued.

“Thanks,” she said, trying to keep the nerves at bay. Because she couldn’t deny it; the closer it got to nine am, the more nervous she became.

“Do me a favour, would you?” JP asked her. “If you can, look out for LaFontaine. I couldn’t stand it if anything bad happened to them, and I know Perry wouldn’t be able to either.”

Laura nodded. “Of course.”

JP thanked her, and then Laura was free to go. She walked out the door and shut it behind her. She took a few steps, then turned around and walked backwards, gazing at the cabin. She hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she saw it.

\----------------

At eight-thirty, Laura met with Carmilla and LaF outside the Big House. A man was there waiting for them. He seemed pretty normal, apart from the fact that about a hundred eyes were dotted all over his body. Real, baby-blue eyes. Laura didn’t know which one to look at. Carmilla introduced him as Argus.

Argus wasn’t really into talking much.

He gave them all some ambrosia, as well as a flask each of nectar. Nectar was the drink of the gods, and apparently it was similar to ambrosia in respect to what it did to demigods. A little would heal you. Too much would burn you up. Laura was careful not to confuse these provisions with her cookies and grape soda.

Argus also gave Laura a sheath and belt for her sword, which Laura was eternally grateful for as it meant she didn’t have to carry her sword in her hand the whole time. Argus gave LaF some rope and a grappling hook – which they didn’t really question; they just shoved it in their backpack with a wicked grin – and Carmilla received a wristwatch. She was very appreciative, but Laura didn’t really know why. The watch didn’t really look like it would help them much.

After giving them these gifts, Argus motioned for them to follow him out of the Camp. At the bottom of the hill just outside the Camp’s borders, there was a van with “Delphi Strawberry Service” on the side. Laura threw Carmilla a confused look.

“It’s the official cover for Camp Half-Blood,” Carmilla explained, “plus it’s how the Camp pays for its expenses.”

“That… is not what I expected,” Laura admitted, and Carmilla chuckled to herself before climbing in the back and offering a hand to pull Laura in after her. LaF climbed in after them and they all sat down on the floor as Argus fired up the van.

“So where are we being taken?” Laura asked. “Do we even know how we’re gonna start our search?”

Carmilla tapped her nose and smirked. “I have a plan,” she said, “and it involves LaFontaine.”

“What? Why me?” LaF moaned from their spot next to Laura. “I thought I was only here for my comic relief and stunning good looks.”

“Well, that, and I also needed you because your father might be able to help us out,” Carmilla admitted.

“Hermes?” Laura interjected. “I suppose he is the god of thieves…”

“Oh, he won’t know who stole Hades’ chariot, or why,” Carmilla waved her hand dismissively, “but Hermes is also the god of travellers.”

She didn’t clarify her plan any further than that, and before Laura could question her, the van lurched to a stop and they all collapsed in a heap on the floor in a tangle of arms, legs and swords. Groaning, Laura tried to make sense of where her limbs were, and she was pretty sure LaF had head-butted her in the stomach on their way to the floor. She opened her eyes and found it was pitch-black. She panicked for a second before she realised the darkness was because Carmilla’s hair was covering her face.

Or, rather, her face was covering Carmilla’s hair. Laura finally located all her extremities and found that she was sprawled on top of Carmilla with her head in the crook of the other girl’s neck.

“Ow,” she heard from beneath her, and she hurriedly pushed her weight up and off of Carmilla.

“Sorry,” she squeaked, resting her weight on her hands and knees, and hoping she hadn’t hurt Carmilla before their quest had even started.

“Funny,” Carmilla wheezed, trying to get her breath back after Laura had knocked the wind out of her, “I never pictured you for a top, cupcake.”

Laura sputtered and her face went bright red. “I didn’t mean – I just – oh for gods’ sake, Carmilla!” She noticed Carmilla was laughing even as she was out of breath.

“Sorry. Couldn’t resist,” Carmilla said with a wink, and Laura pushed herself to her feet. She offered a hand, and pulled Carmilla to her feet too. They heard a throat clear behind them, and they turned to see LaF standing by the open doors to the van with their eyebrows raised.

“If you two are quite finished, I’d like to start our quest now, please,” they said.

“Right,” Laura said, still a bit red in the face. “Where are we, exactly?”

“Local town,” Argus finally spoke, coming into view as Laura jumped out of the back of the van, Carmilla following suit.

“Okay,” Laura said. Her stomach growled. “I vote breakfast first.”

LaF and Carmilla nodded, and Argus reached into his pockets. He handed Carmilla a wad of dollars and a leather pouch full of drachma.

“For your expenses during the quest,” he grunted, and Carmilla accepted the money with a grateful smile. Argus walked back to the front of the van, got in and drove off without another word. Carmilla turned to the other two, an amused look on her face.

“Breakfast then?” She asked, “Y’know, now that we can pay for it?”

\----------------

Laura had started to wonder why the hell the mortals in the diner didn’t take a second look at them. For one thing, they were all armed with swords. That was until LaFontaine had explained the wonders of the Mist.

“Missed?” Laura had asked, “Yeah, they’ve missed the fact we have _weapons_.”

“No, not ‘missed’. Mist. M-I-S-T.” LaF had said. It keeps mortals from seeing what’s really there. That’s why nobody else can see it when monsters attack you.”

Suddenly the last few years had all made sense. The Mist had been why Laura was called crazy. All the mortals had seen was Laura attacking, say, a Chihuahua rather than the great big hound with the bloodshot orange eyes. Incredible. This world was incredible.

Now, they were leaving the diner, and Carmilla had finally decided to let them in on her plan.

“It’s not much of a plan yet,” she warned, “So much could go wrong. But I was thinking last night: Who would know why Hades’ chariot has been stolen? Hades himself! If anyone has an idea who stole it and where they’ve gone, it’ll be him.”

Carmilla paused, and Laura sensed the plan was about to get a bit tricky. “Problem is, Hades is always really busy, and can’t really leave the Underworld…”

“Oh no,” LaFontaine interrupted. “There’s no way in hell I’m going into hell.”

“It’s the only way,” Carmilla countered. “Otherwise, how will we know where to even start looking?”

LaF looked uneasy, but eventually they nodded their assent. “And I suppose you need my dad’s help because he goes in and out of the Underworld all the time?”

Carmilla nodded. “Now you’re getting it, my friend.”

“So how do we find Hermes?” Laura asked, her brain trying to keep up with the rapid developments. She didn’t particularly want to go to the Underworld.

Carmilla looked around the High Street they were currently on. She evidently spotted something, because she muttered “Ah ha,” and strode off towards a Post Office.

Laura and LaFontaine exchanged a look, but followed her nonetheless. Laura didn’t know what Carmilla was thinking; she couldn’t seriously believe they’d find a Greek god in a Post Office, did she?

Evidently, she did.

Carmilla strode up to the desk, and said, “I’d like to mail a package to Hermes at Mount Olympus, please.”

The old lady behind the desk did a double-take, and Laura groaned internally. She would surely think the lot of them were mad. But after a moment, she leaned closer to Carmilla and asked, “Who’s asking?”

“Carmilla Karnstein, daughter of Hades,” Carmilla said firmly in a low voice, “so don’t waste my time.”

Laura gaped (she seemed to be doing that a lot in the past few days, mostly because of Carmilla). There was something about Carmilla’s tone that sent a shiver down her spine. Like she was to be respected; feared, even. The confidence she possessed, well – Laura liked it.

 _Not now_ , she scolded herself mentally. Pulling her focus back to the old lady behind the desk and away from the suddenly even-more-attractive-than-before Carmilla, she saw the woman get up and go through a door behind the desk. Carmilla turned back to the pair of them.

“That went well,” she observed.

“So do you just use that voice and people automatically do what you say?” LaF asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Carmilla shrugged. “Mostly people just do what I say regardless. I’ve been told I have an effect on people,” she grinned smugly. “The ‘all hail the daughter of Hades’ voice is just something I do for fun.” She winked at Laura, who coughed and looked away.

Surely she couldn’t know.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the old lady returned with a middle-aged man in tow. This guy was kitted out in nylon running shorts and a t-shirt. He was clearly an athlete, but his curly black hair and elfish features hinted at the ‘god of thieves’ title. Laura could see why he was LaFontaine’s dad.

Hermes immediately spotted LaF and his face broke into a wide smile.

“Hey kiddo!” he exclaimed, and vaulted the desk to crush LaF in a one-armed hug. LaF smiled, even as it was becoming harder for them to breathe, and Laura was in total awe. She was literally in the presence of a Greek god, and if he wasn’t calling LaF his child, Laura probably wouldn’t have known. He looked so… normal.

Hermes noticed Laura staring at him, and gave her a wave. “Hey,” he said, then furrowed his brow. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“Dad, this is Laura,” LaF said, “She’s new. She’s on the quest with us.”

Hermes’ eyes widened. “Don’t tell me,” he said to Laura, scrunching up his face in concentration, “You’re a daughter of Athena.”

“Yeah, how did you know?” Laura asked, impressed.

“Lucky guess,” he waved a hand dismissively. “I have to say, you may not look that similar to your mother, but I’ll bet you’re a firecracker just like her! I recognise that look you have.”

“Dad,” LaF said gently but firmly, “I’m afraid this isn’t just a social visit. We need your help.”

They turned Hermes’ attention to Carmilla, who was watching with a ghost of a smile on her face. Hermes nodded. “Of course. Now, _you_ are most certainly a daughter of Hades,” he said, walking over to Carmilla. “And because you need my help, I’m guessing it has something to do with your father’s missing chariot?” he guessed.

“Bingo,” Carmilla replied, “could you take us to the Underworld?”

“No,” was Hermes’ reply, and Carmilla visibly deflated. “I can’t take living people there, it’s the Underworld! But,” he held up a finger, and Carmilla snapped to attention again, “I suppose I _could_ tell you where the entrance is, and it’s not really my fault if you find your way in there, right?”

Carmilla smiled. “That would work,” she said.

Hermes grinned and spread his arms wide. “Anything for friends of my LaFontaine. Well, not ‘anything’; you know how demigods can be sometimes-“

“Okay, dad. That’s enough,” LaF prompted.

“Right. Okay, so the entrance to the Underworld might possibly be in Central Park, New York,” Hermes said casually.

Carmilla seemed confused. “I’ve always heard it was somewhere in LA.”

“Technically, yes, the main entrance is in Los Angeles,” Hermes said, “but I’m guessing you’ll want a shortcut past the main gates? So you’ll want the Door of Orpheus; that takes you beyond the main gates, so you’ll be closer to Hades’ palace.”

“Wow, thanks,” Carmilla said.

“Are all the gods this helpful?” Laura asked.

Hermes sniffed disdainfully. “Not nearly as helpful as me,” he said. He focused in on Laura again. “LaFontaine said you were new, right?”

Laura nodded warily.

“How old are you?” Hermes asked.

“Fourteen,” Laura answered, “but I’ll be fifteen really soon.”

“Almost fifteen,” Hermes tutted. “You should’ve been claimed years ago. I’ll have words with Athena about that.”

Pressing a kiss to the top of LaF’s head, and waving cheerily at Carmilla and Laura, Hermes vaulted back over the desk and disappeared through the door. The old lady, who had been watching the entire exchange with interest, went back to her seat behind the desk. Carmilla nodded in thanks, and motioned for the others to follow her out.

It seemed almost surreal to step back into the real world after encountering a real-life god, but Laura supposed it was just one of the many strange experiences she’d have to get used to. One thing was bugging her, however.

“What did Hermes mean when he said I should’ve been claimed years ago?” she asked as they walked towards the nearest bus stop.

“A while back the gods made a deal with this dude who helped save the world,” Carmilla said nonchalantly. “One of the conditions of that deal was that the gods would claim their kids by their thirteenth birthday. For a while they were good at sticking to that rule, but I guess old habits die hard.” There was a slightly bitter edge to her tone, and Laura decided it would be unwise to press her further.

She couldn’t help but feel a little let-down. She hadn’t even met her mother yet; for so long she had believed her to be dead. But she still hadn’t claimed Laura until she was nearly fifteen years old; two years later than she was supposed to. Laura could’ve known about Camp Half-Blood two years earlier, could’ve had two more years of experience before this quest she wasn’t even sure she was ready for, could’ve met Carmilla two years ago.

And LaF. Carmilla and LaF. Not just Carmilla.

 _But mainly Carmilla,_ her subconscious teased her. _Funny how you’re on this super important, life-threatening adventure, and now is the time you develop a massive crush on her._

Laura could’ve rolled her eyes at her own predictability.

\----------------

They caught a bus into New York City, and Laura used the ride as an opportunity to ask more questions about the gods. Her most pressing question had been why Hermes had looked so normal.

“He was only like six feet tall,” she said.

“Laura, you’re barely over five feet tall yourself,” Carmilla pointed out.

“Oh, like you’re so much taller than I am, Karnstein,” Laura teased, and she could see Carmilla biting back a smile.

“Point taken. But in answer to your question: That’s not his true godly form. The gods just take on human size and clothing when they’re in the mortal world.”

“Better for blending in, I suppose,” Laura considered. “So what do their godly forms look like?”

Carmilla shrugged. “If I knew, I’d be dead.”

Off Laura’s incredulous look, Carmilla clarified, “I mean, when a god reveals their godly form, it’s too much for mortals and demigods to bear. The light would burn you up.”

Laura grimaced. “There seems to be a lot of things related to the gods that will burn you up,” she commented, and LaFontaine barked out a laugh.

“Yeah, no kidding,” they said. “Explosive folks, those gods. Try not to piss them off.”

Eventually they arrived at their stop, right outside Central Park. Laura had never been to New York before, and she was blown away by the sheer vastness of it.

The park was massive, and Laura felt a sinking feeling. How on earth were they meant to find a door in this huge space? Carmilla strode off towards the Southern end of the park.

“Come on,” she said, “We’ll start down the southern end and work our way systematically back up.”

Laura looked at LaF, who sighed.

“You heard the boss, let’s haul ass,” they said, jogging to catch up to Carmilla.

\----------------

It took an hour, but they finally found what could definitely be the Door of Orpheus. It was a pile of rocks beneath a bank in a secluded area of the park. The only problem would be getting past the rocks. None of them, not even Carmilla, were strong enough to move these rocks out of the way, and Laura was beginning to lose hope in their quest already. If they couldn’t get into the Underworld, how would they question Hades? Carmilla was right: Without him, they wouldn’t have a clue where to start looking.

LaF was wracking their brain. “Okay, so I’m assuming this place is called the Door of Orpheus for a reason. What does everyone remember about Orpheus? I don’t think I paid attention when we learned about him.”

“Don’t look at me,” Laura held up her hands, “I only learned the likes of Orpheus were real a couple of days ago!”

“Hang on,” Carmilla said, “Wasn’t it Orpheus whose wife died? Eurydice, I think.”

LaF and Laura looked at each other and shrugged in tandem. Carmilla kept going, starting to pace back and forth as she spoke.

“Yeah, his wife Eurydice died and Orpheus was so distraught he tried to get her back from the dead. He didn’t manage it, of course, but he built this path straight into the Underworld,” she said. “Of course that was in Ancient Greece, but obviously the door has moved along with Olympus and the gods to Western civilisation-“

“I’m sorry, what-now?” Laura interrupted. “That can happen?”

“Keep up, cutie,” Carmilla said, “Why do you think most modern demigods are American? The gods moved here when this part of the world became the most advanced. Anyway-“ she carried on like she hadn’t just blown Laura’s mind, “I’m positive Orpheus used some sort of trigger to open the door, and without it the entrance will remain sealed…”

“Do you remember what the trigger was?” Laura asked as Carmilla put her index fingers to her temples and paced faster.

“Hang on… I’ve almost…” Carmilla stopped pacing and a triumphant grin lit up her features. “Music!”

Laura wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “Music?” she asked.

“Yep. Orpheus was a skilled musician; trained by Apollo himself. Of course he would use music!” Carmilla ran over to the pile of rocks and paused. “I guess we’ll have to sing or something. Any song suggestions?”

“Maybe an old rock song?” LaF suggested wryly, and Laura burst out laughing at the pun.

“Bohemian Rhapsody is always a good go-to song,” Carmilla mused, “Come on, LaF.”

“Why me?” LaF argued.

“Because,” Carmilla said, “I’m the quest leader, so I’m not gonna sing to a pile of rocks. And I think little Laura here might die of embarrassment if she had to sing in front of us, so…”

“Fine,” LaF grumbled, and began to sing. “ _Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?”_

Already the rocks were shifting; pushing themselves to the side and forming a gap through which they could squeeze. Carmilla went first into the dark void, followed by Laura, then LaFontaine, who kept singing until they were safely in the tunnel. They stopped singing, and the rocks closed up behind them, taking with them the little light from the outside world that had remained.

This left them in the pitch black. Without thinking about it, Laura reached out blindly and grabbed Carmilla’s hand. She felt Carmilla squeeze back reassuringly, and she felt a bit better about being trapped in the dark.

LaF produced a torch from their backpack. “Never leave Camp without one,” they said, switching it on and brushing past Laura and Carmilla to lead them downhill along the narrow path.

Carmilla turned to Laura and grinned. “When I was told all gays would go to hell, this is not how I pictured it,” she commented. “Are you ready, Laura?”

“Yep,” she managed. _Please don’t let go._


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Friday updates seem to be a regular thing. Sound okay?
> 
> Anyway, here's Wonderwall.
> 
> (Not really but meh. Enjoy, and I'll see you all next week!)

Unsurprisingly, the path to the Underworld was long and most definitely downhill. There was only a wall on one side of them; the other side was a vast, echo-filled pit. The path was rocky and occasionally unstable under their feet, which was making all three of them anxious as they walked in single file down the track. The nerves were not helped when, after a good thirty minutes of walking, Carmilla stepped on a loose patch of ground, which crumbled beneath her foot and fell into the void beneath them. Laura grabbed around Carmilla’s waist with her free hand from behind and steadied her as Carmilla yelped.

LaF stopped moving in front of them and shone their torch back on Laura and Carmilla.

“Dude, are you okay?” They asked, and Carmilla gave a shaky nod. She covered Laura’s hand on her stomach with her own and squeezed it gratefully.

“Thanks, cupcake,” she said, voice remarkably steady.

“Sure,” Laura said, unwinding her arm from Carmilla’s waist but keeping hold of her other hand still. “Glad to finally be of some use on this quest.”

Laura couldn’t help the bitter edge to her voice. She couldn’t see Carmilla’s reaction in the dark, and the other girl didn’t say anything, but she brushed her thumb over Laura’s knuckles and gently tugged on their joined hands as she started walking again behind LaF.

“Guys, I think I see the end of the path,” LaFontaine said suddenly, and sure enough, if Laura craned her neck she could see a faint orange glow around a corner. Strange. That would be the first corner on this path. The glow got brighter as the three of them got closer, until they rounded the corner and Laura saw the Underworld for the first time.

It was not how she had expected hell to look.

For one, there were no towering pillars of flames. Actually, the Underworld could almost be considered dull compared to the things Laura had seen these past few days. It was pretty greyscale, with millions of translucent human shapes kind of wafting around in front of them. The orange glow they had seen was in the distance. Laura presumed it was the official entrance for all the dead souls.

Dead souls. That had to be what these human shapes were. Laura shivered and gripped Carmilla’s hand tighter, taking comfort from the warmth of another living being.

“These are the Fields of Asphodel,” Carmilla murmured. “It’s where the vast majority of souls go when they come to the Underworld. Neither evil nor heroic, these were just ordinary people.”

“And what about the non-ordinary people?” Laura asked quietly. “Where do they go?”

“Well, if you were a hero, you’d go to Elysium. Paradise,” Carmilla explained, “But if you were evil during your life you’d go to the Fields of Punishment.”

“That sounds cosy,” LaF commented from Carmilla’s other side.

“Punishment for all of eternity,” Carmilla said. “Each torture painfully unique.”

“So if these are the Fields of Asshotel-“

“Asphodel,” Carmilla corrected LaF.

“Right. That. Then where’s Hades’ palace? I’m assuming that’s where we need to go.”

Camilla shrugged. “I don’t really know, I’ve never been here before.”

“Wait, you’re a daughter of Hades and you’ve never been to the Underworld?” LaF was surprised.

“Well Hades isn’t exactly dad of the year now, is he?” Carmilla shot back, and LaF held up their hands in a placating gesture. Laura stroked the back of Carmilla’s hand with her thumb, and Carmilla took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” LaF said. They offered Carmilla a small smile, which she returned. “But in all seriousness, we do need to find Hades’ palace. Otherwise we came here for nothing.”

Carmilla opened her mouth to answer, and a loud bark rang out. Carmilla made a face.

“That wasn’t me, I promise,” she said, and Laura resisted the urge to laugh at the look on Carmilla’s face. The smile was wiped completely from her lips, however, when she located the source of the bark.

A giant three-headed dog was galumphing towards them.

It would be considered comical if it weren’t so terrifying. LaF and Laura immediately went to unsheathe their swords, but Carmilla shook her head.

“It’s Cerberus,” she explained, “He’s sort of a watchdog. What do you expect to accomplish with a sword?”

Laura shrugged. “Just a reflex, I guess.”

“A good reflex,” Carmilla reminded her, “but maybe not for this situation. At least, not yet.”

Cerberus the three-headed dog skidded to a halt in front of them and sniffed frantically at them. They all froze in place as the giant dog sniffed them all over.

He seemed particularly interested in Carmilla. Laura supposed it was because she was a daughter of Hades. Carmilla appeared to sense it too, because she gingerly reached out a hand to Cerberus. He sniffed that one too, and seemed satisfied because next thing Laura knew, Carmilla was scratching his shoulder (which was as high as she could reach).

Cerberus panted happily, and LaF felt confident enough to join in. Cerberus snarled at them, and they retreated hastily. Laura couldn’t blame them; when a dog snarled with all three heads, it was just a little bit terrifying.

“Now, now,” Carmilla chastised, “LaFontaine is my friend, so you be nice to them, do you hear me?”

The big dog whined, and looked reluctantly over at LaF, who reached into their backpack and pulled out a rubber bouncy ball. They tossed it up and down in their palm a couple of times, and this was all it took to get Cerberus’ attention. He completely ignored both Laura and Carmilla, and all three heads watched the green ball in LaF’s hand intently. LaFontaine looked quizzically at Carmilla, who nodded.

“Throw it,” she said, and LaF chucked the ball hard. Cerberus went bounding off after it. He reached it in record time, and the heads began snapping at each other, every mouth trying to get to it first. Eventually the head in the middle won, and Cerberus came galloping back to plonk himself down in front of LaF.

“So it does work,” LaF said with a smile, “Everyone was actually telling the truth about him.”

Laura was confused, but Carmilla just shook her head. “Before our time,” she told Laura.

“Okay. Cerberus: Give!” LaF said, holding out their hand for the ball. Cerberus clamped down with his teeth and the ball was cleaved in half.

LaF sighed, and pulled a blue one out of their backpack. “We’ll work on it,” they said. Turning their attention to Carmilla and Laura, LaFontaine said. “Go. Find Hades’ palace – I’ve got this. As long as Cerberus is interested in our game of fetch, he won’t raise the alarm.”

Carmilla nodded, and quietly backed away, taking Laura with her. As soon as LaF threw the second ball, the two of them broke into a sprint, breaking the contact between them at last as Carmilla drew ahead of her through the Fields of Asphodel. It wasn’t Laura’s fault Carmilla was faster than her.

Laura also had no idea where they were actually going. Carmilla had said she’d never been here before, and yet her first instinct had seemed to be to run this way. Well, they _were_ running in the opposite direction to the ‘official’ entrance to the Underworld, so Laura supposed this direction would make sense. Carmilla kept running, breezing past all the lost souls with ease. Now, Laura was by no means out of shape – despite mostly eating cookies and other sweets, the Krav Maga had helped keep her fit and strong – but she quickly found there was no way she could match Carmilla’s pace, especially when they had been running for ten minutes and Carmilla hadn’t eased up.

Carmilla glanced back over her shoulder at Laura, who was panting even as she was pushing through the ache in her legs and the burn in her lungs. She slowed down a bit until they were level.

“Sorry,” she said, breathing hard, “I forgot you haven’t done even one of the Camp’s border runs yet. You’ll find they’re really good for building up your stamina.”

Laura only nodded in return, not trusting herself to speak when it felt like her lungs were about to burst.

“The good news is I’m pretty sure we’re heading in the right direction,” Carmilla pointed up ahead, to where the massive dark shape of a building was looming, getting closer with every stride. She smiled reassuringly at Laura. “I have to say, you’re doing a hell of a lot better than most demigods in your position would be doing.”

Laura smiled back, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Sure. That was easy for Carmilla to say; she was this incredible badass. A force of nature. Laura didn’t know at what age Carmilla had been claimed, but it must have been fairly young, given how developed her skills were. And she still didn’t know exactly how old she was.

The shape in the distance soon turned out to be a hulking grey and black building; very grand in design – but it also looked kind of like a prison. Laura hoped it was actually Hades’ palace. She would hate to have run all this way for nothing.

They stopped once they reached the steps. Carmilla bent forwards, hands on her knees. She had her eyes closed and was breathing heavily. Laura, on the other hand, lay flat on her back, her lungs taking in massive quantities of air as she recovered from the run. After a few minutes, Carmilla walked over to her, seemingly recovered enough to carry on.

“You okay, cutie?” She asked, reaching down to put a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “If it was too much, you should’ve said.”

“Nah,” Laura panted, “’s all good.”

Carmilla smiled down at her and offered a hand to help her up. Laura took it, and Carmilla pulled her to her feet.

“Carmilla?” She asked suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“How old are you?”

Carmilla looked at her strangely. Laura tried to explain the odd question. “I was thinking on the way over that you were so much faster than me, probably because you were claimed when you were quite young, am I right?” Carmilla nodded, and Laura carried on. “So you’ve been training at the Camp probably longer than anyone else, but you don’t seem to be as old as Danny and Kirsch, or even LaFontaine, although I don’t know how old they are either… Anyway, it’s just strange to think about because what the Camp thought they’d found in me, they already have in you and I’m not sure everyone there appreciates that. Sure, you’re popular. I mean, just look at you. But people never talk about how good at this you are. All they seem to care about is gossiping about you.”

There was a pause as Laura caught her breath. That actually felt quite cathartic, but it was beginning to worry her how Carmilla hadn’t said anything. She was looking at Laura with an unreadable expression on her face, and Laura suddenly felt as if she was under a microscope. Carmilla swallowed.

“Fifteen,” she said quietly. “I’m fifteen years old.”

\----------------

It didn’t take them long to find Hades.

Once they’d entered the palace-slash-prison, they’d just followed the main corridor all the way to the throne room, and there he’d been. Six feet tall, like Hermes had appeared to them, lounging in his massive throne with a woman sitting in the one by his side. Hades had spotted them before they’d even entered the room, and he’d lazily waved them over to him.

He was dressed in all black, and was wearing honest-to-goodness leather pants. Laura could see where Carmilla got her style of clothing from. Speaking of Carmilla, when Laura glanced over at her, she could see how tense the girl’s shoulders were, and the softness in her eyes when Laura had been talking earlier had vanished. She was guarded.

“Carmilla,” Hades said, once the two of them had stopped in front of his throne.

“Father,” Carmilla nodded tightly, and Laura saw the woman to the side of Hades stiffen slightly. _That must be Persephone, Hades’ wife,_ Laura thought to herself.

“I was told you were here in the Underworld,” Hades drawled.

“By who?” Carmilla asked.

Hades waved a hand vaguely. “I have eyes all over my domain, does that really surprise you?”

“Guess not,” Carmilla’s tone was clipped. Laura could see this was hard for her; she didn’t know what had happened between them, but whatever it was, it was clearly pretty bad for Carmilla to be this tense. Her hands were balled into fists by her sides, and Laura wanted to comfort her. To hold her hand again and whisper reassurances until the rigidity disappeared from her body. But she didn’t. Not with Carmilla’s father there. So she shifted marginally closer to Carmilla, reminding her that she was there by her side. Laura hoped she was communicating solidarity to Carmilla. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carmilla’s hand twitch.

“You do know that while you, as my daughter, are allowed here, others are not,” Hades said, looking pointedly at Laura. “This one is a child of Athena. What is she doing here?”

“She’s part of my quest,” Carmilla replied immediately, “My quest to retrieve _your_ stolen chariot, so I don’t think you should be dismissing her.”

Hades’ eyes blazed with anger. “Very well,” he all but spat. “Let me rephrase my question: What are you all doing here?”

“We came here because you might know something about who stole your chariot and why,” Laura interjected with a glare at Hades. “If we want to know where to look, we need any information you have about the theft.”

Hades turned his attention to Laura.

“You’re a little firecracker then, aren’t you?” He growled. “Just like another one of your sisters I had the misfortune to meet.”

Laura didn’t know what he was talking about, but she felt compelled to defend this sister. Maybe it was because she thought for so many years that she had been an only child, but she couldn’t let Hades talk about her family like that.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to, or what happened,” Laura said in a low, hard voice. “But I’m not going to let you be rude about my family. I don’t care if you’re the god of the Underworld, because you’re not striking me as a very nice person.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Carmilla staring at her, but she kept her gaze levelled at Hades. The god was glaring back at her, and for a second Laura was afraid she had gone too far; that skeletons would burst from the ground and attack her or something, but then the moment passed and Hades relaxed.

“Well, you’re right about that,” he said smugly, “I’m not a nice person, so bear that in mind when you’re asking me for information.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Carmilla laughed mirthlessly. “If you don’t co-operate, it’s likely you’ll never see your precious chariot again. The thief will keep it and do gods-know-what with it! Is that something you really want, father?”

There was a silence while Hades seemed to be fighting an internal battle. Persephone lounged in her throne, sending the occasional glare in Carmilla’s direction and looking bored.

“Fine,” Hades said shortly. “A couple of days ago, a woman came into the Underworld, as alive as you two are. She stood where you stand now, accusing me of hiding someone from her. I think she was looking for the spirit of one of the dead. When she couldn’t find them, she confronted me. I told her I had no idea what she was screaming about, and then she left. Next thing I knew, my chariot was gone and so was she.”

Laura tried to process this influx of information. “Why would she think you were hiding one of the dead from her?”

Hades shrugged. “Not a clue, but she was almost hysterical by the time she got in here.”

“How did she get into the Underworld?” Carmilla asked.

“The same way you did, I imagine,” Hades said. “See, security in the Underworld isn’t quite as tight as it used to be. Workers laid off, you know? Hard times.”

“And yet you live in luxury here,” Laura muttered.

Hades grinned. “Yes, I do.”

Carmilla shook her head. “I still don’t understand. Only a handful of people know how to get into the Underworld, and most of them are at Camp. They’re all accounted for.”

“What makes you think she’s at Camp Half-Blood?” Hades asked. “I mean, I’m sure she was there when she was younger, but this woman was well into her twenties. Twenty-eight, to be precise.”

“How do you know how old she was?” Laura asked.

“Because I think I was there when she was born,” Hades said. “I suspect that the thief is one of my daughters. Your half-sister, Carmilla.”

\----------------

The walk back through the Fields of Asphodel were mostly quiet. Carmilla was still guarded after their talk with Hades, and Laura wasn’t used to seeing her like this. She didn’t like it.

Eventually, the silence got too much for Laura.

“At least we know more than we did when we came. Still, I can’t believe he didn’t know the name of one of his own children.”

Carmilla nodded. Then she stopped walking and shook her head.

“I’m not even sure I want to find his stupid chariot anymore,” she said.

“Look, I know Hades is, well, a prick,” Laura said, stopping beside Carmilla. “But isn’t this what we do? We’re heroes, regardless of whether we actually like who we’re doing the deed for.    We do it because it’s the right thing to do. The chariot doesn’t belong to the thief; it belongs to Hades.”

“He doesn’t deserve it,” Carmilla mumbled, looking at the ground.

Laura took Carmilla’s face in her hands and forced the girl to look at her. “No, he doesn’t,” she agreed. “But neither does the thief.”

Carmilla looked at Laura for a long moment.

“He doesn’t love me,” she said, and her voice was so small. “He loves his other children. Why doesn’t he love me?”

Laura didn’t know what to say, but her heart was breaking a little bit. She wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s neck and hugged her tightly. She felt Carmilla’s hands on her back, gripping the material of her shirt like it was a lifeline. Laura breathed in slowly, closing her eyes as she felt the tension leave Carmilla’s body in a rush. They stood there for a while, just breathing, before Carmilla pulled away slightly. She managed a small smile.

“Thank you, Laura,” she said quietly.

“Come on,” Laura said gently, breaking away from Carmilla completely, “let’s go find LaF. I’m sure they’re running low on rubber balls by now.”

Carmilla nodded, and they both set off at a jog. This time it was easier than the run towards Hades’ palace. Laura knew part of it was because they weren’t going as fast, but she also suspected part of it was because they now knew a lot more about the quest than they did before their talk with Hades. Laura wondered why Hades had acted the way he did around Carmilla. Clearly, there was a history Laura was missing. But she wasn’t worried. If just now had been any indication, Carmilla wasn’t opposed to opening up in front of her. Maybe one day Carmilla would tell her what had happened between herself and her father. For now, she was content to know that Carmilla had some form of trust in her.

And when Carmilla glanced over at Laura when LaF came into view (still playing fetch with Cerberus) and grinned at her, Laura felt her heart skip a beat.

“Come on, losers,” Carmilla announced when the three of them were reunited, “we have a stolen item to return. And I think I know where to start looking.”


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ended up about 1.5k longer than my usual ones... 
> 
> If you wanna, come yell with me on tumblr at ilovemyships.tumblr.com cause i love yelling about this :)

“Nevada?” Laura was surprised. “Why Nevada?”

“Because,” Carmilla explained, “I have a half-brother who lives there, out on the range. He might be able to help us now that I know the thief may be a relative of mine.”

“Okay, but how are we supposed to get there?” LaF asked. “We don’t exactly have enough cash for three plane tickets, or the time to get a bus to the other side of the country!”

Carmilla grimaced. “I have a way, but none of us are going to particularly enjoy it.”

She looked around her. Cerberus was whimpering at LaFontaine, who gave his shoulder a pat.

“Sorry, buddy,” they said, “we’ve gotta go.”

“Come on,” Carmilla said, walking towards the path they used to enter the Underworld. “We should get out of here before my father sets the Furies on us or something.”

Her voice was despondent, as if she really believed Hades would do such a thing to her. LaF looked to Laura, their face lined with concern, and Laura shook her head.

“I don’t think she really wants to talk about it,” she whispered. LaF nodded, but Laura could tell they were still worried.

\----------------

The way out was somewhat more tiring, as the path was uphill, but the three of them pushed through the fatigue and came out the other side. When they emerged back into Central Park, the sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows over the grass.

“Perfect conditions,” Carmilla observed. Laura was confused.

“For what?”

“You want a way to get to Nevada quickly and cheaply?” Carmilla asked, and Laura nodded. “Well, I can do that. But like I said before, it’s not going to be pleasant.”

“I don’t care,” Laura said, “This is important for the quest, so let’s do it.”

Carmilla looked to LaF, who nodded in agreement.

“Okay then,” she said. “Shadow Travel it is.”

“Woah,” LaF said immediately, “are you sure about this, Carmilla?”

“Yes,” Carmilla snapped. “It’s not like I’ve never done it before.”

“I know that, but you know what happens the more you do it.”

Carmilla waved her hand dismissively. “It’ll be fine. Do you want us to catch the thief or not?”

LaF was silent for a while. “Yeah, I want us to catch the thief, but I also don’t want you to hurt yourself in order for us to do so.”

“What other choice is there?” Carmilla said quietly. When LaF didn’t answer, she nodded sagely. “Right. You two, grab onto me. Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

Laura was completely lost. She had no idea what Shadow Travel was, or why LaF was so against Carmilla doing it, but she knew she trusted Carmilla. If Carmilla said she could do it, then Laura had no complaints. She grabbed hold of Carmilla’s outstretched hand while LaF took her other hand, and Carmilla turned them so they were all facing a long shadow cast by a large tree. Carmilla took a deep breath, and then said one word to them.

“Run.”

They all took off running towards the shadow, and somewhere in the back of her mind Laura thought they must look very strange to onlookers. But that thought left her as they neared the shadow. She had no idea what was about to happen, but she guessed it had something to do with the travel part of Shadow Travel. She braced herself a couple of strides out, and then they were in the shadow and everything went dark.

She couldn’t see a thing, but she sensed they were going a hell of a lot faster than they had been on the approach. The cold wind whipped cruelly at her, and it felt almost as if her face was peeling off. That’s how fast they were going. Carmilla was right. It wasn’t pleasant at all.

Laura didn’t know how long they were in the darkness, but eventually they were out. The three of them collapsed in a heap, the sunlight absolutely blinding after their time in the dark. Laura gasped in a lungful of air. Breathing had also been hard at the speed they’d been going. She raised her head to see LaF already on their feet, and Carmilla on her knees.

Laura took in her surroundings. The three of them were sprawled just outside the reach of the shadow cast by a rock formation. There was sand beneath her body, and the heat was immense. The sun was far brighter than she had ever experienced, and the landscape was mostly barren, with only occasional shade to be found. They had made it.

“That was Shadow Travel?” She asked, hauling herself to her feet.

LaF nodded at her. “I guess so.”

“Wow, Carmilla; that was incredible! I mean yeah it was awful when it was happening, but that really just happened! We travelled almost all the way across the country just by using a shadow!” Laura, now that she had regained her bearings, was incredibly excited. “I’m guessing that’s a child of Hades thing? I mean, it seems like an Underworld thing to me, so that means I can’t do it, but you can and you can take people with you too!”

“Uh, Laura,” LaF said warningly, and Laura turned to them, grinning.

“What?”

LaF gestured to Carmilla, who was blinking unfocused eyes and swaying slightly on her knees. Without another word, she fell forwards into the sand.

“Carm!” Laura’s euphoria immediately turned to panic. She rushed to Carmilla’s side and dropped to her knees. LaF took hold of her wrist and paused. After a second or two, relief flooded their face.

“She’s alive. Just unconscious.”

Laura sighed in relief, and gently rolled Carmilla over onto her back so she didn’t inhale sand when she breathed. And she _was_ breathing. Laura could now see the tell-tale rise and fall of her chest. She looked exhausted.

“Is this what you meant when you said you didn’t want her to hurt herself?” Laura asked LaF quietly, remembering their heated conversation in New York.

“Yeah,” LaF said. “The thing about Shadow Travel is that the more you do it, the more you lose contact with the physical world. Too much Shadow Travel in a short space of time can put you in a coma.”

“What?” Laura was aghast. “Carmilla knew that and she still transported us across the country? That’s a really long way to travel!”

“I know,” LaF said, watching as Laura reached out to brush Carmilla’s hair back out of her eyes, “but she was right about one thing. It was the best option we had.”

“Will she be okay?” Laura asked tentatively.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine after her little nap.” LaF reassured her. “She hasn’t used it enough to warrant a coma, but even one trip can be exhausting, especially if she’s taking other people with her.”

Laura shook her head slightly. “Stupid, stubborn girl,” she muttered, still stroking Carmilla’s hair.

“We should move out of the sun,” LaF said suddenly. “We’ll all burn if we’re out here for too long.”

Together, they carried Carmilla into the shade provided by the rock formation, and they settled with their backs against the rock. Laura pulled Carmilla’s head into her lap. _So she doesn’t get uncomfortable,_ she reasoned with herself, disregarding the fact that it was now a lot easier to continue playing with Carmilla’s dark hair. LaF busied themselves by doing inventory on the contents of all their backpacks. They cast Laura an amused glance when they saw just how many cookies she had brought.

Gradually it got darker until night fell. LaF yawned and stretched, rubbing their eyes to stay awake.

“Get some sleep,” Laura told them. “I’ll take first watch, make sure nothing tries to eat us.”

LaF nodded gratefully. “Thanks,” they said, “wake me up when you need to swap shifts.”

\----------------

Laura didn’t know what time it was when Carmilla woke up. She had tried looking at the watch Carmilla was given when they started their quest, but it didn’t seem to work. The hands stayed on twelve o’clock for at least ten minutes. Laura wondered why Carmilla had been so pleased when it was given to her.

She was looking at the moon and listening to the howl of the coyotes when she felt Carmilla stir. She glanced down to see Carmilla’s eyes fluttering open for the first time since she had collapsed all those hours ago.

Carmilla seemed to panic for a split second before she got her bearings, and then she relaxed again, shifting her body slightly to stretch and crack a few joints.

“How are you feeling?” Laura whispered, acutely aware of LaF’s gentle snoring to her left.

“Pretty good, actually,” Carmilla whispered back. “I’ve woken up in worse places.”

This was accompanied by a wink and a lopsided smirk, and Laura was glad for the lack of light. Maybe Carmilla wouldn’t notice her blush. _Pull yourself together, Hollis._

She pulled her hand away from Carmilla’s hair, and the girl whined at the loss.

“What’s wrong?” Laura asked. “Are you hurt?”

“No, that thing you were doing was just really relaxing,” Carmilla admitted quietly.

“Oh,” Laura said, and tentatively moved her hand back to stroke through Carmilla’s hair. Carmilla closed her eyes in contentment, and Laura smiled to herself.

“I’m sorry if I worried you earlier,” Carmilla murmured, eyes still closed.

“I wish you’d told me what Shadow Travel does to you,” Laura sighed, “I wouldn’t have been so blasé about it then.”

Carmilla smiled. “It’s fine, cupcake. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but for a second I thought you weren’t,” Laura admitted. “I don’t know what I’d do if something like that happened to you. Or LaF,” she added hastily.

“You’ve only known us for a few days,” Carmilla reminded her.

“I know, but you two are the closest thing I have to friends,” Laura whispered. “Plus you guys actually know what you’re doing on this quest. I have no experience, no special abilities like Shadow Travel. I don’t know why I’m even on this quest,” Laura tried to laugh, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears.

Carmilla opened her eyes and frowned at her. “Hey,” she said gently, waiting until Laura met her eyes before continuing. “You’re on this quest because I know you’re good enough to be on this quest, okay? It was my choice to bring you, and I stand by that choice. You have no idea how helpful you are.”

Laura snorted. “How on earth have I been helpful?”

“You stood up to Hades, for one,” Carmilla reminded her. “Not many people would’ve had the courage to do that. And without you there, I don’t think I would’ve stood up to him either.” Carmilla looked like that was hard for her to admit. “I’m not as brave as people think, Laura.”

Laura stared at Carmilla, whose eyes were an open book, and she was suddenly hit with the sheer magnitude of the situation. If she didn’t shut this conversation down now, the floodgates would open and she would ask Carmilla everything about her past; a conversation Laura didn’t think either of them was ready to have. So she faked a yawn, even though she was still wide awake.

“Get some sleep,” Carmilla said softly. “You must be exhausted.”

Laura nodded. She felt bad about lying to Carmilla, but it was for their own good. Her crush on Carmilla was beginning to get out of hand, and ‘in the middle of a dangerous quest’ was definitely not the time to be pursuing a relationship. Besides, what if Carmilla didn’t feel the same way? She didn’t want to make things awkward when it was only the three of them.

“I’ll wake LaF up and see if they want to take the next shift with me,” Carmilla continued, reaching a hand up to tuck some of Laura’s hair behind her ear. Laura closed her eyes at the contact. Carmilla was really not making this any easier. “Goodnight, Laura,” she said. “Sweet dreams.”

\----------------

Laura was shaken awake by LaFontaine when the sun was already high in the sky. Perhaps she had underestimated how tired she actually was.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” LaF said, as Laura sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Time to move.”

Laura stumbled to her feet, not realising how sore she was after so much moving the previous day. She stretched her arms high above her head and took a few deep breaths. Feeling a bit better, she picked up her backpack and shouldered it. LaF and Carmilla were all ready to go too, and it struck Laura that they were in fact stuck in the middle of the Nevada desert.

“Which way?” She asked, and Carmilla pointed to somewhere behind the rock they had used as shelter. Walking around the rock, she could now see that there was what appeared to be a small house in the distance. Laura guessed that was where Carmilla’s half-brother lived.

“I’d guess it’s about four miles away,” Carmilla commented, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. “More walking, I’m afraid.”

Laura and LaF groaned.

“You know how much I hate walking,” LaF grumbled to Carmilla.

“Suck it up, ginger snap,” Carmilla responded, and LaF pulled a face at the nickname. “Just think how much good this is doing your stamina. Your girlfriend back home will be very appreciative.”

LaF flushed. “Perry is not my girlfriend,” they said firmly.

Carmilla looked amused. “She may as well be, the way you two look at each other. Makes me nauseous.”

“Shut up, Carmilla,” LaF was smirking, as if they were about to pull an ace from their sleeve, “just because you want-“ Carmilla slapped a hand over their mouth.

“If you value your life, I’d suggest rethinking the rest of that sentence,” she said warningly. LaF gulped from behind Carmilla’s hand. “That’s what I thought,” Carmilla said, visibly relieved. Laura wondered what it was that Carmilla didn’t want LaF to say. They hadn’t even started walking, however, and as much as Laura wasn’t looking forward to the trek in the blistering heat, she didn’t want to stay stood here forever.

“So are we gonna carry on with this quest or…” Laura said, breaking the stalemate Carmilla and LaF seemed to have reached. Carmilla pulled her hand away from LaF’s mouth, making a face.

“Ew, you licked my hand.”

LaF shrugged. Laura rolled her eyes. She may be the youngest on this quest, but she definitely wasn’t the most childish.

They set off walking, picking their way through the cacti and various plants growing in clumps through the sand. And they kept going. And going. And going.

To Laura, walking wasn’t interesting at the best of times. But the landscape was all the same here, and for a while they didn’t seem to be making any sort of progress towards the house. But after they’d been walking for about twenty minutes, the house _did_ seem a bit closer.

Eventually, they got there, passing the time with occasional conversation (although both LaF and Carmilla were determinedly steering clear of any talk of relationships) until they were suddenly at the wooden door of the house. Carmilla rapped on the door with her knuckles, and barely ten seconds had passed before the door was opened a crack and the three of them were staring down the barrel of a shotgun.

“Woah,” Carmilla said, “Is that any way to treat your sister?”

There was a pause, and then the gun lowered slightly and the door opened enough that they could see the man behind the gun. He had dark hair and a pale face despite living in the desert, which was a bit odd. He studied them for a moment before his eyes lit up with recognition.

“Carmilla?”

“You haven’t changed a bit,” Carmilla said, shaking her head at him. “What are you still doing here in the middle of the desert?”

The man put down the gun completely. “It’s quiet out here. I like quiet.”

“That why you left Camp?”

“That was five years ago, Carmilla,” the man said, and studied Carmilla’s face. “You, on the other hand, have changed a lot.”

“Yeah, well, the last time you saw me, I was only ten years old,” Carmilla reminded him.

“I know, but it’s not just that,” the man replied. “Even the way you stand…”

LaF cleared their throat. It was clear they were waiting to be introduced. Carmilla broke eye contact with the man and gestured to LaF.

“These are my friends, LaFontaine and Laura,” she said to him. “Guys, this is my half-brother, Will.”

\----------------

Will’s house seemed even smaller from the inside. He had buckets of water lining the walls of the tiny kitchen, a fireplace with a metal cauldron hanging above it, and a well-worn sofa with a blanket and a pillow on it. Will said he liked his own company fine, and a couple of times every week he would go to the nearest lake with his horse and fill up the water containers to bring back for them both to drink. The horse would roam around near the house, never straying too far out of loyalty to him, and would pick at the plant life and the grass that managed to grow.

“See, there are many wild mustangs out here, and several quarter-horse ranches,” Will explained. “I found this guy four years ago as a young horse, sick and alone. I coaxed him back to my house and helped him get better. He hasn’t gone more than a mile away since.”

Laura smiled. She liked Will. Carmilla seemed to as well, if the way they were laughing and joking together was any indication. Carmilla had told him about their quest, and that the thief was most likely a relative of theirs.

“I wish I could help you, kitty,” Will sighed, “but I’m pretty out of the loop here, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah, but if the thief was looking for a hideout, maybe she’s thinking of coming somewhere like here.” Carmilla reasoned, “You understand how people think better than anyone else I know, so what’s going on inside her head?”

Will was thoughtful for a few moments, then he leaned forwards, tapping a finger on his chin. “Okay, so dad said this woman was accusing him of hiding someone from her, and she got really mad when he dismissed her?”

Carmilla nodded. “Next thing Hades knew; bam, no chariot.”

“Right. So she obviously didn’t _plan_ to steal the chariot; it was a heat of the moment decision. So I’m thinking that as soon as the thrill of the act has worn off, she’s gonna be a bit panicky. Spooked, like a young animal. Alone. She can’t tell anyone, of course she can’t.”

“So what does she do?”

“I think that rather than coming somewhere like here, she goes to familiarity,” Will said. “Not exactly where she was before all of this happened, but somewhere similar that reminds her of home. Not necessarily geographically, but more about the atmosphere of the place. Maybe a similar population density or land area. Do you know where she lives?”

Carmilla shook her head. “We don’t even know her name.”

Will sighed. “Then I’m afraid I can’t be of any more use to you.”

“Hey, you’ve helped loads already,” Carmilla reassured him, and Will smiled.

“I’m glad.”

Carmilla turned to the others. “So, where to next? Any suggestions, because I am totally clueless.”

This was the first time Carmilla had admitted she didn’t have a plan on this quest, and it was strange to hear the confidence with which she said it.

“Maybe we could get in touch with the Camp,” Laura suggested. “We could ask for all their information on twenty-eight year old daughters of Hades. Surely the Camp has records of the people who live there.”

“Brilliant,” Carmilla said, a smile stretching across her face.

“The only problem is I don’t know how to contact the Camp,” Laura admitted.

“We can send in iris message,” LaF clicked their fingers. Noticing Laura’s confused look, LaF explained further. “Iris is the goddess of the rainbow. So if you create a rainbow and throw a drachma into it, you can talk to anyone you want, kind of like video chatting.”

“Wow,” Laura didn’t think this world would ever stop surprising her. “So how do we make a rainbow?”

“Water would work, if we did it right,” Carmilla mused. “The only problem is we can’t use Will’s water. It’s his, and besides we’d need a jet of it, like a hosepipe.”

Will shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

“Do you have any types of tube?” LaF enquired, and Will considered the question, before leaving the room and coming back a few minutes later with a six-foot long rubber pipe. “Perfect,” they said.

“What’re you planning, LaF?” Carmilla asked.

“If we can turn this pipe into a siphon, we can use lake water and the sunlight to make a rainbow,” LaF said, “Perry and I do it all the time back at Camp to annoy the merpeople,” they added sheepishly.

Carmilla clapped her hands together. “I think we have a plan,” she grinned. “See, you guys are totally helpful,” she said, looking straight at Laura, who allowed herself a small smile. Point taken.

“The nearest lake is about two miles east of here,” Will said, pointing in the right direction. “You should make it in about half an hour.”

Part of Laura was dreading more walking, but it was a lot less than she walked yesterday so she wasn’t about to complain. Will sent them on their way with a smile and a promise that he would contact them if he thought of anything relevant. They began walking again, and Laura shared her cookies and grape soda with the other two. It was the first thing she had eaten in over a day, and she hadn’t even realised how ravenous she’d been.

The walk may have only taken them thirty minutes, but with the sun mercilessly beating down on them it seemed like a much longer trip than that. Once they made it to the lake, Laura collapsed dramatically onto her side by the water’s edge.

“You alright, cutie?” Carmilla asked.

 

“Yep, just gonna… take a nap,” Laura said, closing her eyes as the exhaustion got to her again.

“Okay,” Carmilla said, barely holding back a laugh. “You take a nap right there, and LaFontaine and I will figure out a way to-“ the rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud splash. Laura opened her eyes to see the top of Carmilla’s head surface from the water. She was drenched to the bone. LaF was cackling from the shore, and Laura immediately figured out what had happened. She hauled herself quietly to her feet, leaving her backpack and the rubber pipe to the side, and snuck up to where LaF was doubled over with laughter at Carmilla.

Laura gave LaF a shove, and the child of Hermes yelped in surprise as they were pushed into the lake. On their way down, they managed to snag Laura’s shirt, and the two of them went tumbling into the water after Carmilla.

The water was deep and cold. After the initial shock, Laura decided she liked the change in temperature. All three of them were laughing, and LaF started splashing Laura in retaliation for the push. Pretty soon, it had progressed to a full-on water fight. Laura loved it. It felt for a few minutes as if they were normal teenagers again; friends who were messing around without the weight of a dangerous mission on their shoulders.

Eventually they sobered up and stopped the splashing and yelling. Carmilla swam to the side of the lake and pulled herself up with her arms. She reached out a hand for Laura to take, and helped lift her out of the water. Laura clambered onto dry land and Carmilla grinned at her.

“That was fun,” she said, and Laura wasn’t sure she had seen Carmilla so light and carefree in the (admittedly limited) time she’d known her. Laura held Carmilla’s gaze, smiling back at her, until LaF yelled from the lake.

“Hey, aren’t you going to help me out, or are you just gonna continue with your staring contest?” They asked.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but she helped LaF out of the water just as she had done for Laura. LaF smirked at the two of them. “Makes me nauseous,” they quoted back at Carmilla, who scowled.

LaF went to work with the pipe, putting it in the lake just so that it siphoned out the water. Laura didn’t see exactly how they did it, but it evidently worked. LaF picked up the pipe, being careful to keep the other end in the lake, and put their thumb partially over the opening, turning the flow of water into a misty spray. Held at the right angle, a rainbow appeared in the mist, and Carmilla fished in her pocket for a drachma.

“O Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering!” Carmilla called, tossing the drachma into the spray. It disappeared into the water, and the spray rippled as one. “Show me Chiron,” Carmilla said.

Immediately, the ripple turned into an image, and Laura recognised the interior of the Big House, where Chiron was waiting for them.

“Hey Chiron,” Carmilla said, waving at the centaur. Chiron smiled back.

“How fares your quest?” He asked.

Carmilla shrugged. “Pretty good. We might have a lead, actually, but we need your help.”

Chiron nodded. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Can you look up details on any twenty-eight year old daughters of Hades that have been recorded please?” Carmilla asked, and if Chiron was surprised at the specifics of the question, he didn’t show it.

He went out of frame for a couple of minutes, and Carmilla looked over at Laura and smiled reassuringly.

Chiron came back into frame with a piece of paper in his hand. “There is only one daughter of Hades that age,” he said. “Her name is Mabel Modenstka, and she left the Camp ten years ago. Is she the thief?”

“We think so,” Carmilla said. “Funny. I thought when we had a name I might remember her but I don’t think…”

“Your first visit to Camp was only seven years ago, Carmilla,” Chiron said. “She was long gone when you arrived.”

 “I guess,” Carmilla still looked unconvinced. “Where does she live?”

Chiron studied the paper. “According to this, she was a summer-only camper. During the rest of the year, she lived with her mother and step-father in Cleveland, Ohio.”

“I lived near there until I was five,” Carmilla said. “Akron. Then I moved all the way to San Francisco until I was seven. Then I lived at Camp.”

Chiron nodded, even though it seemed Carmilla was more talking to herself. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“Yeah, actually,” Laura spoke up. “Can you find out which US cities are the closest to Cleveland in terms of population, land area and population density?”

Chiron looked a bit perplexed, but he nodded. “I’ll contact you with the most likely candidates,” he promised.

“Thanks, Chiron,” Carmilla said, and nodded to LaF, who yanked the other end of the pipe out of the water. The image faded, and it was just the three of them again.

“Mabel Modenstka,” Carmilla said slowly. “I can’t…”

“It’s okay if you can’t remember her,” LaF told her. “Like Chiron said, she left camp before you got there.”

“Yeah, I know, but I just feel like I should know something,” Carmilla muttered, scrunching up her face in concentration.

While they were busy discussing, all three of them had failed to notice the rumbling of galloping hooves until they were very close indeed. Laura whipped around just in time to see four horses charging towards the lake. Unlike the mustangs that roamed the deserts of Nevada, these horses were bigger and lither, more like the thoroughbreds you’d find on the racetrack. They were all different colours; one was chestnut, one was bay, one was grey and one was jet black. There was something slightly off about these horses; they weren’t frightened of people for one, and something in their eyes and in their determination made Laura think they could be of the mythical variety.

Wracking her brain for any stories about four horses, Laura came up empty. Unless…

Hercules. Heracles. Whatever his name was. He was assigned tasks. And one of them involved stealing horses.

A chill went through her body. Make that man-eating horses.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take these two away from me, they're too gross.

“The mares of Diomedes,” Laura whispered as the horses galloped ever closer. They were beautiful.

In a terrible, flesh-eating way, but still…

If she weren’t so transfixed, she would probably be running the hell away, but where exactly could she run _to_? Last time Laura checked, she couldn’t out-run a horse. She glanced to the side to see that Carmilla and LaFontaine seemed just as fascinated by the horses as she was.

The mares reached the water’s edge and skidded to a halt. As one, they all lowered their heads to drink from the lake. Laura exchanged glances with the other two. The vicious, people-eating horses were completely ignoring them, despite having seen them clear as day.

“Of course,” Carmilla said quietly to the other two, “Once Heracles had fed Diomedes to the horses, the legend goes that they became calm.”

“Why after eating Diomedes?” Laura asked.

Carmilla shrugged. “Dramatic licence?”

“So they’re not going to tear us limb from limb and devour us one by one?” LaF asked nervously.

“I don’t think so,” Carmilla reassured them. “From what I remember, Heracles released them into the countryside once it became apparent that they were permanently calm.”

“Okay, just checking,” LaF said, the relief evident on their face.

“They’re beautiful,” Laura breathed, as the grey one looked up at her and cocked her head to the side.

Carmilla stifled a laugh. “I should’ve known you were one of those horse girls in elementary school.”

“I always wanted to get riding lessons, but my dad said it was too dangerous,” Laura admitted, and Carmilla’s expression softened.

“You can ride the horses and pegasi at Camp,” she reminded Laura.

Laura nodded, but Camp was potentially a long way in the future (if they even got back at all). Carmilla suddenly turned to her, a devilish smile gracing her lips.

“But as long as we’re here,” she began, “we do need a ride out of the desert and on towards some potential locations. So why don’t we see if these horses want to help us out?”

Laura squealed excitedly, ignoring LaF’s worried look. Carmilla clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth to get the horses’ attention. The jet black one raised her head immediately and regarded Carmilla with interest.

 _Of course the most punk looking horse would be interested,_ Laura thought. Carmilla stretched out a hand to the mare, who pushed past her companions to get to her. The horse stood in front of Carmilla and reached out her nose to touch Carmilla’s outstretched palm. Seeing she had nothing for her to eat, the mare snorted and began to turn away.

“Wait!” Carmilla cried. “Laura, give me a cookie?”

Laura hastily reached in her backpack and retrieved one of her chocolate chip cookies. She gave it to Carmilla, who held it out to the mare on a flat palm.

“Here you go,” Carmilla told the horse gently, “I know cookies aren’t the best thing for a horse to eat, but you did used to eat people so it can’t be any worse for you than that.”

The black horse sniffed the cookie once, then snatched it out of Carmilla’s palm and ate it without chewing.

“You’re rude,” Carmilla commented. “I like you.”

Laura rolled her eyes.

Carmilla feeding one of them had sparked the interest of the other three, and Laura pulled three more cookies out of her backpack. If she wasn’t careful, she’d run out soon. She gave a cookie each to Carmilla and LaF, keeping the third one for herself.

The grey horse that had been looking at her earlier walked confidently up to her. Laura tried to copy what Carmilla had done, holding out the offering on a flat palm for the mare to investigate. The horse blinked at her once, and then gently took the cookie from Laura’s hand, crunching it happily. The chestnut was already searching LaF for more cookies, sniffing eagerly at their hair, and the bay horse was trying to shoulder-barge Carmilla’s horse (that’s how Laura was going to think of the black horse from now on) out of the way for more attention from Carmilla.

“It seems we’ve won them over,” Carmilla commented. She turned her attention to the jet black mare. “Do you think you could help us?” She asked.

Carmilla’s horse snorted and bobbed her head. Carmilla grinned. “Fantastic. We need to get out of here. We don’t know exactly where we’re going just yet, which is one of the reasons I can’t Shadow Travel, but do you think you could give us a ride out of here? There’ll be more cookies in it for you.”

All of the horses’ ears pricked at the mention of more cookies, and Laura chuckled. Carmilla’s horse bobbed her head again, and turned to the side so Carmilla could get on. Laura should’ve known that the horses from the myth would not only understand them perfectly, but would help them in return for food.

“Everyone pick a horse,” Carmilla laughed. She, of course, took an athletic leap; she scrambled onto her horse’s back with only a minor struggle. LaF chose the chestnut horse (“she matches my hair!”) and Laura chose the grey. The bay mare positioned herself at the front of the herd. Laura tried to climb onto the horse’s back, but she couldn’t get a purchase on its shiny coat. Eventually the horse took pity on her and lowered herself to her knees.

“Thanks,” Laura muttered, embarrassed, as she swung a leg over the mare’s back. She grabbed a fistful of the horse’s silky mane as the grey pushed up from her knees to stand. This was the first time she had been on a horse, and the ground was a lot further away than she liked.

Carmilla touched her heels to her horse’s sides, and the mare took off into a canter, following beside the bay. Laura didn’t even get a chance to do the same before her horse leaned back and sprung forwards, racing to catch up. The sudden movement jolted Laura out of balance, and to her horror, she felt herself slipping to the side.

The grey turned her head to try and nudge Laura back into position, but gravity was against them and the ground came rushing up to meet her with a sickening thud. Her horse immediately slammed on the brakes and whinnied at the others. Carmilla was looking over her shoulder, and Laura saw her panicked expression even through the dust from her position on the ground.

The other three horses turned back, and Carmilla vaulted off hers before it had even come to a halt. She ran to Laura’s side and dropped to her knees.

“Oh my gods, are you okay?” She asked, hands hovering over Laura’s body, not sure if it was safe to touch her.

“I think so,” Laura could feel all her extremities, and she didn’t think anything was broken. “I think I’m just winded from the impact.”

“I’m so sorry, Laura, I should’ve realised your balance wouldn’t be as good,” Carmilla apologised, now deeming it safe enough to squeeze her shoulder. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?”

“No. My dad would’ve killed me if he knew I hadn’t been wearing a helmet though,” Laura said. She paused to consider. “Scratch that. He would’ve killed me if he knew I’d been riding a horse, period.”

“Think you can get up?” Carmilla asked. Laura nodded, and Carmilla helped her gingerly to her feet. Laura breathed out shakily, and reached out to pat her horse, who was looking at her with great concern.

“You good, L?” LaF asked from their perch still on their horse.

“Yep,” Laura gritted out. “Just remembered I don’t actually know how to ride a horse. I’m sorry guys, I guess I’ve ruined our way out of here.”

Carmilla shook her head. “Of course you haven’t. As soon as this is over we’ll go back to Camp and get you some riding lessons. Until then, you can come with me and Deinos here.”

“Deinos?”

“That’s her name, I think,” Carmilla said. “It means ‘terrible’. I know one of them in the myth was called that, and I’m just assuming it’s this one because she took a shine to me.”

Deinos snorted. Laura sucked in a breath. “Okay.”

 “Come on, you know the saying,” Carmilla said, nudging Laura gently. “Get straight back on the horse.”

 She walked with Laura over to Deinos’s side, and leapt onto her back with the grace of a cat. She shuffled forwards until she was sitting just behind the horse’s withers, and held out an arm. Laura took it, and through a combination of her jumping and Carmilla pulling, she somehow managed to get onto Deinos’ back behind Carmilla. Although she looked like a thoroughbred, her back was broad enough not to be uncomfortable, which Laura was extremely grateful for.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Carmilla’s waist, and Carmilla grabbed two handfuls of mane to balance them. She gave Deinos a pat on the neck, and clicked her tongue to get the mare to move forwards at a walk.

“We’re just gonna walk for a minute until you get used to it and then we’ll pick up speed,” Carmilla told them, and LaF nodded from the back of their horse. The bay and now the grey were walking in between them, and Laura felt her grey horse nudge her foot with its nose. She smiled reassuringly down at it.

After a few minutes, Carmilla asked over her shoulder if Laura was ready to go faster. Once Laura had said yes, she explained how they were going to go straight into canter because trot would be extremely uncomfortable and hard to stay on with the two of them on the horse.

“Hang on to me,” she said, and Laura nodded, gripping tighter as Deinos moved into a smooth cantering pace. _As if_ she was going to let go. Truth be told, she was rather enjoying riding double with Carmilla. She wasn’t as scared of falling off, and she could always bury her face in Carmilla’s hair if the landscape was going by too fast. Despite not having been washed for a couple of days, Carmilla’s hair still smelled nice. Part of Laura hated herself for enjoying having her arms around Carmilla so much – after all, this was a serious quest with serious consequences – but that part of her was overruled by the fluttering in her chest as she rested her chin on Carmilla’s shoulder while the wind whipped their hair back.

It felt like something out of a cheesy movie, but Laura didn’t mind. Plus, Carmilla didn’t seem to be entirely unaffected by their position either. Laura could see her determinedly staring dead ahead, but occasionally her eyes would wander to look at her. Every time she did that, Carmilla bit her lip as if trying to hide a smile. Laura inhaled deeply. She’d thought Carmilla would smell like death or something equally unpleasant, being a daughter of Hades and all, but actually she smelled more like sandalwood. Laura wasn’t sure why, but she wasn’t about to complain.

Eventually, she found she wasn’t having to rely on Carmilla as much for balance. She still kept her arms securely around Carmilla’s waist (she wasn’t about to run before she could walk) but she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of cantering through the Nevada desert. She was pretty sure they were heading west, towards California, but Laura didn’t know where in Nevada they had landed when Carmilla had Shadow Travelled them out here. Speaking of which, she was happy Carmilla had decided not to Shadow Travel them all again. She guessed part of it was you had to know exactly where you wanted to go, but maybe Carmilla had realised how dangerous it would be to do again only a day after she’d done it last.

\----------------

The sun was getting low in the sky by the time a loud beeping jerked Laura from her comfortable daze. Chiron’s face was flashing on a translucent screen travelling alongside Deinos, and Carmilla yelled “Accept” at it. Chiron instantly became clearer.

“I see you’ve got transportation covered,” was the first thing he said. Carmilla gave him what could only be described as a shit-eating grin in return.

“Chiron, these horses are great! Being mythical, they’re different from normal horses. They don’t even have to take rest breaks, and they actually like me!” She exclaimed. “It took the ones at Camp ages to warm up to me.”

Laura was confused. Carmilla, evidently sensing this, turned to look at Laura and explained further. “According to those who could communicate with them, the horses and pegasi were scared of me because I ‘smelt like death’.”

“What?” Laura said, “But you don’t smell like death at all, you totally smell nice, like…” she blushed and trailed off, forgetting that she probably shouldn’t be spilling her thoughts like that. Carmilla’s eyebrows were raised in surprise, and Laura cleared her throat, hastily turning her attention back to Chiron.

“You called for a reason?”

“Ah, yes,” Chiron said. “I contacted you because I have a couple of possible places that are close to Cleveland when I researched land area, population and population density. The first is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The second is Seattle, Washington.”

Laura thought back to her Geography lessons. “Well, Wisconsin is pretty close to Ohio, so it’s just a case of where she felt safest to flee to.”

“Is that where you think this Mabel is?” Chiron asked.

“Or Seattle. Maybe,” Carmilla said. “She may be in neither of those places. But we’re headed to California, so we can stop and do some more psychoanalysis there.”

“I trust you’ve been busy,” Chiron commented idly.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Carmilla muttered. “Thank you,” she said louder.

Chiron nodded at them, and then the image cut out. The only sound was the hoofbeats of the four horses. Although Laura was more at ease on Deinos’ back than she had at first, her body was getting incredibly tired. Looking over at LaF, Laura could see the same exhaustion in the slump of their shoulders.

“Maybe we should pause for the night,” Laura suggested to the other two. LaF nodded gratefully.

“I don’t know about you guys,” they said, “however my butt is not gonna be able to take much more of this.”

Laura and Carmilla both burst out laughing, and Carmilla reached forward slightly to pat Deinos’ shoulder.

“Easy, girl,” she said gently. “Let’s rest up for the night.”

The horses slowed their pace, and Laura experienced a few bumpy strides of trot before Deinos walked. She could see why Carmilla had suggested avoiding trotting earlier. Eventually they came to a halt, and Laura slipped off the horse’s back and landed on wobbly legs. She put a hand on the mare’s quarters to keep herself upright as she attempted to stretch out her sore legs. Carmilla landed gracefully beside her, but even she winced.

“How do people do this all day?” Laura asked. Carmilla just shook her head.

They heard a thud from behind them, and whirled around to see LaF on the floor. They looked up at Laura and Carmilla.

“I think my legs forgot how to function,” they explained. “Maybe I’ll just sleep right here.”

“Good plan,” Carmilla said. She glanced at the Mares of Diomedes, who were standing quietly to the side. “You guys want some more cookies?”

Deinos snorted eagerly, and Carmilla gave her an indulgent smile as Laura passed her more cookies from her backpack. She only had half a packet left, and she was hungry too. But they needed the cookies in exchange for the ride out of the desert.

So she made do with the dried fruit LaF had found at the bottom of their rucksack.

“I think this was when Perr and I went hiking,” they explained, looking at the food with confusion. “It’s meant to keep for a while, so it won’t poison you.”

Carmilla raised her eyebrows. “Hiking? Gods, you’re whipped.”

“Says the self-professed badass who told me some very interesting things about her feelings after a certain someone went to sleep last night.” LaF countered, and Carmilla’s eyes widened.

“What I said was private, ginger snap,” Carmilla growled, but Laura could tell she was masking fear with anger. “You don’t get to use that against me.”

“Then you don’t get to use my feelings about Perry against me!”

“Whoa, guys!” Laura cut into the rapidly increasing tension. “We’re all tired; it’s been a long couple of days. But we can’t blow up at each other like this, okay?”

Carmilla glanced at her, shifting nervously, and eventually rolled her eyes before muttering an apology, which LaF returned. Laura sighed. The lack of food and proper sleep was definitely starting to get to them.

\----------------

After finding a place she deemed good enough to sleep, and putting her backpack underneath her head as a pillow, Laura stretched out on her back to look at the night sky. She laid her sword within reaching distance to her side, just in case. For the first time since LaF and Carmilla’s mini-argument, she allowed her thoughts to wander. She didn’t know what on Earth LaF could’ve revealed about their talk with Carmilla that would make the girl so scared and defensive. She knew what she _wanted_ it to be about; she wanted Carmilla to have confessed her feelings for her to LaFontaine. Sometimes she even allowed herself to believe Carmilla liked her back.

Carmilla was flirty, Laura knew that. She’d flirted with her almost immediately after meeting her. But after their conversation after meeting Hades, there was no denying that Carmilla had toned it down, and Laura wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was because the seriousness of their task was beginning to hit home after they actually got a lead. Maybe Carmilla had just lost interest in flirting with her. Or maybe, just maybe, the air was starting to shift between them; Carmilla was becoming more serious and genuine rather than hiding behind the flirtation. Perhaps it was wishful thinking. Perhaps there was something to it.

 _The quest, remember the quest,_ had been Laura’s thoughts on loop for a while now. She kept it as a mantra, something to ground her when her feelings for Carmilla had made her feel like she was going to float away from their task. Because there was no denying it: What she felt for Carmilla was starting to grow beyond a simple crush. The more time she spent with her, the more she got to know Carmilla, the more the daughter of Hades was rooting herself in Laura’s heart with no intention to leave. Laura both loved and hated this feeling. She knew that having feelings for Carmilla would complicate the quest. And the quest was the most important thing, not only for recovering a magical item, but as a way to prove herself. To whom, Laura wasn’t entirely sure.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone lying down about three feet to her left. Laura didn’t even have to look to know it was Carmilla.

“Drachma for your thoughts?” Carmilla asked, and hearing these common phrases adapted for demigod use made her smile.

“Just thinking about the quest,” she said, not entirely untruthfully.

Carmilla hummed in agreement. “Where do you think she is? Mabel, I mean.”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Laura said. “But Milwaukee and Seattle would be a good starting point, if nothing else. What do you think the chariot looks like to mortals?”

“The Mist works in mysterious ways,” Carmilla said, a trace of humour in her voice, “so I’m not sure, but it’ll probably be something extra mundane like a bicycle. Luckily, we’ll be able to see it as it really is, or we’d have no chance of finding it.”

“Do you ever feel like the gods set us pointless tasks?”

“All the time,” Carmilla said, “They’ve been doing it for thousands of years, after all. But it’s like you said. We’re heroes, and we do these quests because it’s the right thing to do.”

“You remembered what I said in the Underworld?” Laura asked softly, still keeping her gaze fixed on the stars above her.

“Yeah,” Carmilla said quietly, “What you said there, to Hades and to myself, really meant a lot.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“I can’t promise I’ll answer it, but yes.”

Laura closed her eyes. “What happened between you and Hades? Does he have a problem with you being gay or something?”

Carmilla breathed out heavily, and Laura backtracked. “Of course you don’t have to answer, you can just forget-“

“He’s fine with me being gay,” Carmilla said. “I’m not his only gay child anyway. He just never approved of my first girlfriend. Not because she was a girl, obviously, but because she was a daughter of Zeus. Now you probably know that Hades has hated Zeus for thousands of years, but Ell… didn’t like Hades, to put it extremely mildly.” Carmilla swallowed, and Laura could sense how hard this was for her. “I won’t go into details, but they didn’t get on, and even after she died, I guess Hades still resents me for loving her.”

“How long ago was this?” Laura whispered.

“Just over a year,” Carmilla said. “I was young, just barely fourteen when she died. I don’t know whether it was real love, but it felt like it at the time.”

“You don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” Laura said, finally turning her head to look a Carmilla. Carmilla was already looking at her.

“I think I do want to, just not tonight,” Carmilla breathed, her brow furrowing slightly. “I’ve never told anyone this before.”

Laura smiled. Before she could talk herself out of it, she reached out with her left hand to cover Carmilla’s right. Carmilla shifted so that their fingers were intertwined, their palms resting together. Sparks shot down her arm.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Carmilla shrugged awkwardly. She was retreating into herself, losing the vulnerability of the moment. Laura tried to calm the electricity between herself and Carmilla, to take her mind off the sadness.

“It’s my birthday tomorrow,” she said.

“Happy birthday,” Carmilla squeezed her hand. “When we get to California I’ll buy you a cake.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Laura said.

Carmilla raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you really gonna pass up an opportunity for cake?”

Laura chuckled. “I guess not. We _have_ been surviving off cookies and dried fruit for the past two days.”

“Fifteen,” Carmilla mused. “You’re getting old.”

“Shut up, you’re fifteen too!” Laura laughed. “And LaF is… how old is LaF?” Laura realised she didn’t know.

“Sixteen,” Carmilla answered. “I think their birthday is in a few months.”

“So you’re not allowed to call me old when I’m the youngest person on this quest,” Laura stuck out her tongue at Carmilla, who snorted.

“I was joking,” she said, sticking her tongue out in retaliation.

“Yeah, whatever,” Laura smiled, turning her head back so she was looking at the sky again. “Goodnight, Carmilla.”

“Night, Laura.”

Yeah. More than a simple crush.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but I've spent most of the past week either in class, sleeping, or drunk. None of these are good for writing.

Laura was shaken awake, pulling her from her dream of home, her dad and everything her life was just a week ago. Her eyes shot open, and she blinked, waiting for the world to come into focus. Dawn was just beginning to break, and she was about to chastise whoever had woken her up when she heard it. The roar.

She reached out and grabbed her sword, before rolling over to see Carmilla crouched over her, a finger to her own lips as she nodded in the direction of the roar. LaF crawled over to them, and Laura looked to where the other two were fixated. Her breath caught in her throat.

There, about two hundred yards away, was a creature that at first glance appeared to be an enormous lion. That was until it turned to the side, and Laura saw a goat’s head sticking out of its back. As in, the goat’s head was actually part of the lion. There was something different about this creature’s tail, too. Where there would normally be a tuft of hair at the end of a lion’s tail, instead there was the head of a snake.

“Chimera,” Carmilla whispered. “Hopefully it won’t notice us, and we can just stay completely still until it leaves, then-“

She was cut off by a wind blowing a cloud of dust at them. They all ducked their heads in time, but the Mares of Diomedes weren’t so quick. One of them breathed in deeply, then let loose a loud cough, shaking her entire body. The Chimera’s head (both lion and goat) snapped towards them, and it charged.

“Nevermind,” Carmilla said, the three of them scrambling to their feet. “I guess we fight it.”

Laura unsheathed her sword, and tried to remember the fighting stance Danny had taught her. The Chimera was closing in on them, and Carmilla barked orders.

“Split up. I’ll take the front, you two try and get behind it to catch it off-guard.”

LaF immediately ran to the side, fanning out, and Laura mirrored them, running to the other side of the Chimera. Unfortunately for her, the Chimera must’ve decided she was an easier target, because it changed course and was heading straight for her. Laura knew trying to outrun it would be pointless, so she stood her ground and raised her sword, her senses coming alive in a way they never had before, not even on the lava climbing wall.

She dodged the first leap, swinging her sword and managing to land a cut on the Chimera’s shoulder as it leapt for her. Seemingly not feeling the wound, it recovered quickly, this time breathing a jet of fire that would’ve roasted Laura if she hadn’t dove into a forward roll between the Chimera’s front legs. She tried to stab the underbelly, but the Chimera moved before she could, and Laura realised LaF had now caught its attention, yelling and taunting it from thirty feet away.

Laura hauled herself to her feet and chased after it, seeing Carmilla sneaking round the back of the Chimera. LaF stayed still, playing chicken with the Chimera, and it was so focused on them it failed to notice Carmilla until she lunged with her sword, severing the goat’s head from the Chimera’s back.

The Chimera roared in pain as the goat’s head fell to the ground with a thump. Laura grimaced, but kept running to them. The Chimera turned on Carmilla in fury, batting her aside like a ragdoll with its giant paw. Carmilla hit the ground hard, crumpling. Laura sucked in a breath, wanting to go to her, but she couldn’t leave LaFontaine to fight the Chimera alone. So she charged from behind, anger coursing through her veins, and plunged her sword into the creature’s hindquarters.

Which arguably wasn’t the best move, because the Chimera swung around, sword still buried in its quarters. Laura had no choice but to let go, and she quickly dove to the side as another jet of fire came her way in retaliation. With no weapon, the only thing she could do was dodge the attacks, pressing her further and further back. She couldn’t see LaF or the horses through the smoke, and she was running out of options fast.

Backing up, she tripped over something on the ground and went sprawling. Her head connected with the sand, hard, and a buzzing started somewhere in her left ear. She sat up to see the Chimera bearing down on her. With nowhere to run, Laura stared defiantly up at the Chimera’s open mouth. She could see the orange flame at the back of its throat, and she prepared to die.

Just as the fire was about to leave the Chimera’s mouth, Carmilla sat up in front of Laura, and she realised it must’ve been Carmilla she had tripped over. Carmilla tapped the face of her useless wristwatch, and a shield sprang forth, leather grips looping around her forearm as she raised it above where they were both curled on the ground. Laura turned her face away as she felt the heat of the fire, and above the roar she could hear Carmilla crying out in pain. Then, with a high-pitched squeal, the fire stopped and a cloud of dust exploded over the two of them. Laura raised her head and saw LaF kneeling in the sand with their sword in the air, the Chimera no more.

“I did a kneeslide,” they said blankly. “Man, that felt cool.”

Carmilla whimpered and collapsed, and Laura caught a glimpse of burns on her arm where the metal of her shield had conducted the heat of the Chimera’s fire. Her fingers made quick work of the leather straps around her arm and wrist, and she pushed the rapidly cooling shield away with her foot. Holding Carmilla’s arm in her hands, she surveyed the burn. It was pretty bad; way worse than the burns Laura herself had sustained on the climbing wall back at Camp.

“LaF, fetch my backpack would you?” She asked hoarsely, stroking Carmilla’s hair as she writhed on the floor, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming. LaF scrambled away and returned seconds later with Laura’s backpack. Laura opened it with trembling hands, going straight for the ambrosia she had been given by Argus at the start of the quest.

“Carmilla, you need to eat this square of ambrosia, can you do that for me?” She spoke quickly to Carmilla. The girl managed a nod, and Laura put the healing food into her mouth. Carmilla didn’t bother chewing, she just swallowed the small square like a pill, and her face immediately seemed less contorted. After ten seconds, her breathing evened out from the gasps it had been, and her good hand’s death grip on Laura’s shirt slackened. The burns still looked painful, but at least Carmilla wasn’t in agony any more.

“Can I have another square?” Carmilla asked, and Laura nodded, feeding her another one from the pouch of ambrosia. Carmilla was able to chew this one, and she breathed out a rattling sigh as the burns began to heal. They stopped just short of healing completely, leaving behind extremely tender skin, but Carmilla decided against more ambrosia in case it proved to be a lethal dose.

“The rest will just have to heal normally,” she said, gritting her teeth as Laura helped her to her feet.

“Carm…” As soon as Carmilla was steady, Laura flung her arms around the other girl’s waist, clearly taking her by surprise. Laura let go quickly, mindful of Carmilla’s injuries, and pulled back to see a wide-eyed Carmilla staring back at her. It struck Laura that she probably didn’t get hugged often, and her chest tightened.

“LaF, that was incredible!” she turned to the child of Hermes, who grinned and rubbed the back of their neck, shrugging.

“Yeah well, it was no big deal, gotta have each other’s backs and all… oh, who am I kidding, it _was_ incredible, wasn’t it?” LaF couldn’t contain their excitement, punching the air in triumph. “That move’s never come off for me in training but it sure picked the right moment to come good.”

A whinny behind them alerted them to the fact that the Mares of Diomedes had returned. Laura wasn’t sure where they’d gone when the Chimera attacked; they’d probably been spooked. Mythical or not, they were still technically prey animals. Deinos nosed at Carmilla’s hair, pulling a smile from her, and she reached up to stroke the horse’s mane.

“I’ll be okay,” she said quietly. “We need to move,” she said louder, to the rest of them.

“What’s the plan?” Laura asked. “Get to California and then what?”

“We head for Seattle,” Carmilla said. “It’s closer than Milwaukee so it’s probably our best shot right now. Sidenote: Anyone got a bandage to spare?”

The others looked in their rucksacks but bandages were not one of the gifts they had received. Carmilla sighed and gritted her teeth. Laura could see her blinking back tears and realised that Carmilla was in a lot more pain than she was letting on.

“Here,” she said, and began to tear the fabric at the bottom of her shirt. “Use this to cover the burn.”

She wrapped the strip of fabric around Carmilla’s forearm gently, tying the end in a knot. Carmilla was looking at her curiously.

“Thanks,” she said, “you didn’t have to ruin a perfectly good shirt on my account, though.”

Laura waved it off. “Eh, I’ve always wanted to try out the crop look anyway.”

Carmilla gave a small laugh. “Well it definitely suits you.”

“Thanks for saving my ass.”

“I saved my own ass too.”

“I think you’re forgetting who saved both your asses,” LaF commented amusedly, and Carmilla rolled her eyes.

“Yes, you’re my hero,” she deadpanned. “Now are we going to get to the border sometime this century or not?”

Carmilla vaulted onto Deinos’ back with only a slight grimace, then held out her good arm to help Laura on behind her. LaF mounted their horse and the party once again moved west. According to LaFontaine, the journey would only take another few hours.

Laura leant forwards and hugged Carmilla around the waist. Carmilla stiffened, then relaxed into the embrace.

“Thanks again,” Laura said. Feeling emboldened by actually still being alive after the morning’s events, she pressed a quick kiss to Carmilla’s cheek.

Carmilla sucked in a breath and her face was tinged pink. “Yeah, well, it would’ve sucked for you if you’d died on your birthday.” She managed.

Laura grinned. It was early in the day, but so far it wasn’t the worst birthday she’d had.


End file.
